Umbrellas and Swords
by Panda musume
Summary: 5 years ago, Kagura left to go train with her father. 5 years later, Kagura came back. "Sougo," He watched the sandy-haired man stop in his tracks, "She's not a child anymore." Okita silently slid the shoji doors open, his back facing Hijikata. "I know." Terrible summary, I know. Rated T, Okikagu Basically, the experiences they go through throughout the autumn.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I'm back with a new okikagu story!

Wanted 2 try 2 make this pretty emotional…I guess

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GINTAMA IT BELONGS TO SORACHI HIDEAKI

Italics r 4 sudden flashbacks

Enjoy~

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Umbrellas and Swords

Ch. 1: Past

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The autumn breeze whirled away at the colored leaves. It had been at least five years since they fought here. On _their_ bench. Supposedly, the people of Kabukichou thought they would continue their fights forever. But forever was just an exaggeration. The normal clashes of sword and umbrella flew away with every passing year. Now the park was just something to indulge in. No mp3 swords, no umbrellas, no broken property, and no Sadist nor China girl.

Kagura watched as her pet dog leapt from leaf to leaf, attempting to catch one in the air. Fortunately, the big colorful tree that she was sitting under offered her enough shelter against the sun. Just enough so she wouldn't burn alive. Oh how jealous she was of humans. Being able to touch the sun, but she would never be able to do that…..or else she would end up like Housen. Cooked in the sun with peeling skin and blisters.

And Kagura wanted to retain her youthful looks.

Dabbling into her thoughts for some inner peace before leaving to move back into her surrogate family, a certain one managed to find its way into her mind.

"_China."_

_She stopped, her umbrella inches away from pummeling his face. After a long, intense battle, the victor emerged. "What, sadist?"_

"_You love me." _

She remembered that cocky smirk on his face as a flush of pink invaded her milky white face.

"_What the hell! That's disgusting!"_

'Lies,' she thought. She stuck with denial 'til the very end. To think that the most annoying pest walking the Earth could make her feel this way. But of course, she didn't voice it out. The guy who was a tax-robbing bastard, the one who always put laxatives in Mayora's food, the one who always annoyed her out of her red Chinese dresses, the one who always infuriated her to no end. To think that he was the one who saved her from getting pummeled by a yagyuu retainer. To think that he was the one who covered for her and Kirie-chan.

To think that the man she hated so much was the one that saved her from _herself_that night.

It was ironic.

And she loved him.

* * *

Okita Sougo wasn't really one to show his thoughts so openly. Unless it was pertaining to skipping work, slaughtering people, or expressing frustration over failed assassination attempts on Hijikata. Either way, all those things were just a distraction. Yes, both were just barely a distraction from when she left.

_Sitting on the bench was her in all of her glory. The China girl, basking in the moonlight, highlighting every one of her childish features._

"_What are you doing, China?"_

_She waited, and then picked her head up from her knees to look up at him. "Thinking."_

_No cursing, no war cries, no weapons being thrown at him._

_He poked at her with the sheath of his sword and sneered. "I never thought a gluttonous monster like you could use her brain."_

_An umbrella was thrown at him, a hand grasped his arm. "You sadistic shithead." She snarled, irritated at her rival. "What the hell do want?"_

"_I'm on patrol China~, and no loitering in the park. You're polluting the place with your existence." He deadpanned, making an attempt to lighten to mood. Okita Sougo __**never **__attempts to do that. But something was wrong with the China girl sitting there, all curled up in a ball._

_And she looked so fragile, like pieces of china._

_He poked her again with his sword, wanting her to move. Wanting her to do __**something**__._

_She didn't budge._

_Sougo walked up to her, and sent her flying with a kick to the stomach. She landed on the floor with a sickening thump, and several cursed flew from her mouth._

"_You damn Sadist! What the hell was that for!?"_

_She shot him glares, but never bothered to attack him._

_Boring._

_If this didn't go as he planned, he would just take her umbrella and leave her. That plan worked. On his way to her purple umbrella, a whirl of air swept under his feet and knocked him to the ground. He observed the China girl, glaring at him with her beautiful sapphire eyes as she took hold of her umbrella. It stabbed a hole into the ground, right next to his face. _

_She won._

"_Oi China," He saw her struggle to take out the umbrella and pummel it into his face. The guilty look in her eye. She was restraining herself for a long time, and that was the reason they met up less and less. He didn't want that for her._

"_I won't break."_

_Those words made a small glint pass through her large, doll-like eyes, and she let go of her restraints._

_And so he fought her._

_And she won._

"_Oi, China."_

_She stopped her umbrella from pummeling his face._

"_You love me." He smirked. He himself didn't even know where that came from. The contents of his sick mind already knew. But he rejected it. Denied it with every fiber in his twisted body and soul. His stomach did some unexpected, and nervous flips and turns before he mentally composed himself again. He wanted the China girl to fully retain the cheerful, and yet powerful demeanor she had before. He didn't like the gloomy atmosphere from her as they gradually stopped fighting each other._

_And it seemed to have work._

"_What the hell! That's disgusting!"_

_The obvious coating of pink on her cheeks made him inwardly smile._

_So the China beast had the same unknown disease as him too._

It was ironic.

His very own rival. A gluttonous, sukonbu eating monster who is the very reason why he couldn't sleep at night. Always mooching off of her employer, and shooting curses at him in the park. A purple umbrella always by her side as she annoyed the hell out his sadistic mind when they held their daily squabbles at said place.

She was just a property breaking china monster that he despised the most.

And he wanted her more than anyone else.

* * *

A/N: I'm back with okikagu again (gosh I just ship them sooooo much xD)

So this starts off 5 years later, kanketsu-hen appearances all that good stuff xD

Oh the love disease xD everyone has it xD

Any critiques?

Til next time~


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Ch 2 is up!

**Luna500, **Thx ^^, **Chew Chew, **Thx! Ur chapter is here xD, **C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only, **interesting indeed xD, **chocopaste, **thx! I will try 2 type out the chapters sooner xD

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GINTAMA IT BELONGS TO SORACHI HIDEAKI

Enjoy~

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Umbrellas and Swords

Ch. 2: She's back

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Gintoki grimaced in disgust as he held up the nth sukonbu box that had originated from Kagura's bag. Much to his displeasure and annoyance, he found no money. It was strange, since Kagura had become the famous "Hot-blooded alien hunter," he expected her to get loads of cash.

"Oi Kagura," He started, "if you were training with your hage dad, then why aren't you sprouting money from your-"

The silver samurai was sent flying with a box a sukonbu thrown at his face, and a smug smirk was painted over Kagura's face. It had been five years since he saw his surrogate daughter again (much to his relief), and not once did she fail him in retaining her cheerful demeanor, although he noted her to be too cheerful (which he didn't comment on). Even Shinpachi, who had become nothing but a pile of shitty stress due to his wife having a baby, cracked a smile when Kagura first walked into the Yorozuya, carrying a brown sack, holding sukonbu, on her back and calling it a "santa reference" (insert a tsukkomi from Shinpachi). Although she still was his daughter, she felt different, if different was the right word for his explanation at the moment. Interestingly enough, as he watched his surrogate daughter unpack her things, she seems to have developed an air of maturity that her fourteen year old self never had. Gintoki didn't recognize the woman who was supposed to be his surrogate daughter at the moment. Not only did she develop quite nicely (in both body and personality-wise), he realized that she had also grown out of her naivety, which was prone to any fucked up lie when he first met her. Training with her father must've made her like this.

Gintoki didn't know whether to thank her father, give him an internet hug over wherever the hell he was in the fanfiction archive, or slap him, for Gin would no longer be able to trick her (before) naïve mind into thinking he wasn't the one who threw away her sukonbu, that he wasn't spending time at pachinko instead of doing his job. Sadly, he would have to be more craftier in making her believe his stupid lies. But that didn't stop him from welcoming her with a bear hug, followed by an ecstatic Shinpachi when she just walked into the door of the old apartment.

Kagura, on the other hand, was amazed at how everyone changed. After she unpacked her stuff at her apartment, she went on a walk alone to greet all the people she missed dearly. She found out by her woman intuition that Tsukki was in a secret relationship with her surrogate father (although after watching the blonde woman blush so many times whenever Kagura brought him into the conversation of the dango shop in Yoshiwara, it was definitely obvious to her and to everyone else as to what was going on), Shinpachi got married to Kirara-chan(1), much to her unsurprised and growing happiness, and everyone who seemed to have aged, seemed to have matured, although they still retained the same, happy, childish glow in their eyes from five years ago.

"Woa! To think that Gorilla and you got married!" Kagura watched her anego retain the beautiful, serene smile on her face as she patted her swollen belly. The baby was already at eight months. Otae said that it would only be one month left until she was due. Furrowing her eyebrows, she pursed her pale lips together in a contemplating fashion and swung her legs over the Shimura household porch. A bright glint in her blue orbs could be seen, "So, what are you going to name the baby?"

A small giggle escaped the gorilla woman's mouth. "Well, we were thinking that his name would be Keigo. Kondo Keigo."

"Reminds me of King Kong(2), Anego." Kagura grinned as the name bounced around in her mind.

"Well, Isao-san _insisted _he would be the one who would name the baby if it was a boy after all." She put a hand to her mouth and smiled.

"Mmm, a very gorilla-like name." Kagura nodded her head twice in agreement with her anego, her long, red locks falling all over her face as she lowered her backside to the wooden porch. "I still can't believe Gorilla retired from the tax robbers' job." Seemingly, the china girl thought the only thing the stupid banana eating gorilla could do is be the commander of the no good bakufu dogs. Retracting from her thoughts, she pulled her luscious lips into a grin. "So if Gorilla retired, then Mayora is the new commander….and then the vice-commander would be…" Her voice trailed off at the almost mention of his name as a memory of his eighteen year old self reflected inside her mind.

She loved him.

She loves the Sadist.

She loves Okita Sougo.

Her alien hunting journey, plus the rigorous training given by her bald father had pushed those thoughts to the very back of her mind until now. It was one thing reminiscing about it in the park. At _their_ place. But it was one thing almost spilling the beans to Anego about her conflicting feelings.

Meanwhile, Otae was watching Kagura flush a light pink. With a knowing smile, she suppressed a giggle and brought her pale hands to her own. "Kagura-chan, you can tell me everything. Don't worry, Isao-san is out at the moment." A tell-me-everything smile pressed onto her face, Kagura felt the sweat on her forehead increase as she felt her anego's comforting, but pressuring stare.

Even though she was used to keeping secrets to herself since papi wouldn't be happy with her little secret, she did need to talk to someone anyway. Maybe Gin-chan, or Pachi, and Anego, but she didn't think that she would tell her so soon. But Anego was the best person to go for advice, she figured. After swallowing the lump that began to form in Kagura's throat, she clenched her fists and faced Otae.

"I-I like him." That's it? Only those three words? She wondered if that was enough.

Otae's smile widened. "Yes, and?"

The lump in her throat returned as she struggled to find her voice within all of the blushing and stuttering. "I-I love the sadist." The words that slipped out of her mouth, fully processing inside her brain just a few moments after. It started with the sakura viewing, where she only thought of him as a damn gaki. Then their weekly squabbles at the park, where she only thought of him as a rival she needed to beat. Then he defended her from that ass of a yagyuu retainer, which made her gain a better opinion of him (until he broke her arm and she had to carry him on her shoulders). Then it was with Okita Mitsuba, her sister figure that she saved from some gangster on her visit to the shinsengumi, who spoke of such good things about her "Sou-chan." She still remembered the sadist's face as he kneeled at his sister's deathbed, showing his small back towards her, and that made something in herself break. Probably because he had a sister that loved him with all her heart, but died, in contrast to her brother that didn't give a damn about her at all. The sadist didn't know that Mitsuba called her in before Okita rushed to her side though.

"_Take care of Sou-chan for me." _

_How. How was that possible? He was supposed to hate her…..right? But hate wasn't the word that she thought about when it pertained to the sadist at the moment._

A smile, and encouraging words. Okita Mitsuba didn't even bother to say anything concerning herself. And that's what made Kagura think that she really was strong. Even on her deathbed, she was thinking about her little brother's happiness. Her selfless sister figure that she just met, lying on her deathbed, talking about "Sou-chan."

And she was jealous of her rival for being loved that way.

She moved onto the event with Kirie-chan, who had returned to the countryside. They got kidnapped, got caught, and he saved her. He covered for them. And that was when she thought about Mitsuba-san's words very carefully. Maybe she did like the Sadist. Maybe she did smile during their fights. Maybe her heart skipped a beat once in a while as they clashed, taking in every one of his features.

And then the time came where her yato strength wasn't under her control anymore, and she had to stop the weekly fights with her rival. She remembered hiding in her closet constantly, not wanting to take a step outside, afraid to hurt people like she did with Abuto. She won't let that happen.

She didn't want to break anyone.

What came after that was a blur. Suddenly, her father came up on their doorstep and told Kagura to get ready, telling her to train with him. And she tearfully told everyone goodbye, not knowing how long it would take. She even told the shinsengumi goodbye. But not the Sadist. She avoided him at all costs, embarrassed to show her face to him after everything. She wanted to meet with him once she regained control of herself, once she stopped being weak, once she knew that she couldn't hurt him. But after that, she didn't realize that her footsteps took her to the park. On their bench. She remembered everything so vividly, thinking about when she would return, when her feelings towards him started to change. And there he stood, the man that she was trying to avoid, sending her a kick to her stomach (which surprised her a great deal), and she almost broke. She almost let go of her restraints. And she did, after hearing the most reassuring words that she wanted to hear from him.

"_I won't break."_

Remembering their fight, and remembering her resolving her feelings for him. She looked back again. The pink blush that smeared her face at that time must've been obvious to the sadist.

She stopped her thoughts from going deeper. Because if she did, her blushing would not stop. And anego would probably make her spill the moments that she had with the bastard if her blush stayed.

The gorilla woman clasped her hands together. "I'm very happy for you Kagura-chan!" From what she heard, a certain shinsengumi sadist was becoming quite moody these past five years, as per her husband's report to her. But Otae would leave Kagura to figuring that out.

* * *

A few moments later, Kagura jumped up, with a shocked expression and wide eyes that darted out of the Shimura household. "Oh shit I forgot!" Carrying herself up in a messy fashion, she leaped off of the porch and waved a goodbye to her anego, who sweat dropped at the sudden action, but shook it off and replaced it with a smile, silently cheering her on.

Running to the nearest flower shop, Kagura purchased a bouquet of lilacs with what little cash she squeezed out of her employer when she left the apartment, and fast walked to the graveyard, ignoring the people who made way for her. As much as the people loved her, they knew not to underestimate the kabukichou queen and her superhuman abilities.

She was at the graveyard, barely breaking a sweat. She leaned over to smooth out the creases in her white cheongsam. Not bothering to fix her messy hair, Kagura slowly walked past several graves, humming a tune to herself, stopping once she reached a plain, grey stone.

_Okita Mitsuba._

Placing the bouquet of lilacs on the grave, and lighting the incense that she took out of her pocket, she stood up and faced the grave, running her hands over the cool surface. "Mitsuba-nee, I'm back. Sorry it took so long." She scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "I still remember when you passed, and what you told me. But don't worry, I sorted out my feelings, and I think you realized them before anyone else. I was stupid wasn't I?" She stopped talking for a moment to look up at the sky. "I never thought that I would ever like someone like him. That idiot sadist. I can't believe I fell for a sadistic bastard like him." She paused to let a small giggle out of her lips. "I don't know if I can, but I'll do my best Mitsuba-nee, so you don't have to worry about him. Right now, he's probably torturing mayora." Another giggle slipped passed her as she closed her eyes, twirling her umbrella in her hand, a grin on her face. _'Although I probably won't confess yet.'_

"Bye Mitsuba-nee." She let the small moment of peace last for a bit, and turned around, regretting that action terribly.

There stood Okita Sougo, now older, handsomer, and with red eyes like his sister's. He held onto a bouquet of flowers like hers and his eyes widened for a fraction of a second before shrinking back into pace. Her hands started to sweat.

"China."

China. The nickname that he gave her. Why did she hear some relief in his tone though? She suddenly felt embarrassed, like she wanted to crawl into a hole and hide. Five years, five years of no contact between them and she didn't even tell him she was leaving that night. _'He probably hates me now…' _she thought. But she pushed her embarrassment aside and looked directly at him with her bright blue orbs.

"Sadist."

* * *

What was he doing? What was he doing? He came a little earlier to his sister's grave, and overheard their conversation. He wasn't expecting her to return _today. _

"_She never told you that she was leaving either." _He thought bitterly.

Stepping out from the shadows, he waited for her to turn around. Immediately, his previous thoughts were wiped away. There stood a china girl. No. More precisely, a woman.

And she was beautiful.

"China." He didn't mean to sound relieved. Five years of not seeing her put him in a bad mood. You could ask any of the poor shinsengumi compatriots, and they would tell you the hell hole they were suffering from would be Okita Sougo.

She didn't need to know that.

He could feel her shock radiating in the air, but was soon misplaced with a determined stare.

"Sadist."

_Sadist. _He didn't realize that he missed that nickname so much until his stomach did a little flip. A new realization dawned upon him. Fully, this time. What started as an attraction turned into something that he would have never guessed.

He still loved her.

'_Fuck it…I'm screwed'_ He thought. He didn't know that the china beast standing in front of him would develop, quite nicely. Her air of childishness was still there, but there was a newfound maturity within. Five years did a lot to them starting with appearances, and he didn't know what to do but stare intently at her.

"China," He saw her flinch. "Why didn't you tell me?"

'_Why was I the only one who didn't know?'_

She seemed conflicted, and somewhat guilty.

"…I didn't want to say goodbye to you when I was breaking." For the past five years, she wanted him to remember her as the boyish, arrogant China girl that fought on par with the sadistic shinsengumi scumbag. Not the weak, vulnerable china girl that he found on the bench.

Shocked, Sougo didn't say anything for a few moments, "Then let me ask you something."

A look of confusion crossed her face.

"You love me."

Again, out of the blue. It wasn't even a question anymore. It seemed like a fact.

And they both knew that.

Watching as a dark red blush painted her features, he let a small smirk cross his features as the yato girl started shouting curses at him.

"What the hell, you shithead!"

It was alright, for the meantime. Even though she wouldn't tell him yet, he could wait for her a bit longer. He then held a hand up. "China, I advise you not to curse here. My sister might catch your bad habits." A small glint passed through his eyes, which he was quick to hide.

And so, they decided to relocate themselves to the park, where public property was being destroyed in the middle of their renewed squabbles.

Yet another peaceful day in Kabukichou.

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A/N: schools starting soon, and I can't bring myself to wake up at 7 am….

(1)Anyone remember Kirara-chan from ep 126-128? xD

(2)king kong…what the hell was I doing? XDXDXD

**The reason why Kagura is so reluctant to confess is because she's still embarrassed. She left the Sadist for several years, not to mention never telling him that she left while everyone else knew. And she just suddenly shows up five years later and greets everyone but him. Not to mention that even though she resolved her feelings on Sougo, she still doesn't know what he thinks of her.**

Til next time~


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: ch 3 is up!

**Chocopaste, **thx ^^, **Luna500, **e-ehh? I couldn't read ur review cuz it was in a different language…so im sorry x( & I seriously have no other experience in languages other than Chinese, Japanese (& i can only speak the former two xD), and English…..ehehehe /shot/, **ahsoei, **ooh yayyy another shinkira shipper ^o^! yup, the people in this fic r happy, at least most of them if not pertaining 2 kagura & okita xD, **C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only, **ahaha thx ^^ cuteness all the wayyy xD

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GINTAMA IT BELONGS TO SORACHI HIDEAKI

Enjoy~

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Umbrellas and Swords

Ch. 3: His patience, Her problems

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If anyone in the shinsengumi could guess, Okita Sougo had become quite…cheerful. If that was the word that could describe it. He had stopped giving less torturous training sessions to his guinea pigs—er, fellow shinsengumi compatriots, and his sharp tongue had taken a slight decline. The men were happy that they were indeed relieved of the hellish training sessions given by their one and only sadist. Most likely, the reason for their vice-commander's behavior was because the china girl had come back from space. They had heard and seen her in action five years ago, and from the rumors about her space hunter debut, she was regarded as a beautiful, hot-blooded hunter. Although no one dared to say that out loud, for fear that that would be their lasts words before they were converted into Ms'.

It was only a matter of time when the men of the shinsengumi would realize Okita Sougo's _special _feelings for the china girl that he had always regarded as a rival.

Okita was sitting in the Commander's room, under the pretense of _aiding _him with his work, but was actually waiting for Hijikata to sip his laxative-induced tea inserted by the one and only sadist of the shinsengumi. Unfortunately, since both parties knew each other for many, many, years, Hijikata seemed to have develop "Okita instincts" in regards to barely saving himself from the vice-commander's assassination attempts. This situation was no different, so his decision to not take a sip of his tea was the right choice. Therefore, sparing his bladder from having a spasm attack.

Although the attempts on the mayo man's life were practically daily, Hijikata noticed that they relatively decreased when the china girl came back from her father's training. To think that the sadist that manages to turn every girl into an M would act so…strange. No, strange was not the right word for his behavior. His behavior was more of when Hijikata was with Mitsuba, except a little less restrictive and more sadistic.

But did the china ojou-chan know that? Oh well, Hijikata mentally sighed. This was Sougo's problem, but he couldn't help but pry just a_ little_ bit. And Hijikata _never _pried. He just wanted to make sure, since his relationship with Mitsuba didn't go so well, and he never got to give her the happiness she wanted and deserved.

"Sougo," The cigarette bounced on his lips, "are you dating the yorozuya ojou-chan?" Although, judging by how they interacted over the years, he and the other shinsengumi members suspected them to end up together. Both having good and bad traits if they end up together. One, would be they would be the combination of ten thousand demons if they got together, and if they went all the way and made a child, who knows what would happen to his position as commander. Screw that, who knew what would happen to his life.

He eyed the shinsengumi sadist who stopped the process stabbing his voodoo doll. Apparently, it had Hijikata's picture on it. Hijikata looked away in disgust.

"No." He deadpanned. "Besides, it's none of your business is it, Hijikata-san?" There was a slight question in his tone and Hijikata could sense the slight accusation in between.

Immune to the cold treatment from the sadist, he picked the cigarette out from his mouth and lit a new one, inhaling the nicotine. "I just wanted to make sure that you're taking this seriously."

"Hah?" Okita scoffed, a piercing glare on his face, "are you sure you should be saying that after what happened with aneue?"

"Sougo," His voice was firm, "I couldn't give Mitsuba what she wanted." He was serious, "So I want to make sure you know what you're doing. If you love that girl, then you should take good care of her." Hijikata looked down for a moment to hide a slight blush on his face.

Okita paused to look at his commander as if he was a being from outer space. His wide eyes had regressed to their normal shape after a moment, "You don't have to worry, Hijikata-san." He waved his hand lazily as he stood up and walked to the door, whispering something that Hijikata had to strain his ears to hear. "I know what I'm doing."

Hijikata was stunned for a second. To think that the most stubborn sadist admitted his feelings to the person he hated the most. Even though it was quite indirect. Well, five years had done a lot to them. But what about the china girl? Since he saw her earlier, she had changed drastically, it was only a matter of time before she would find someone and settle down. Did she reciprocate Sougo's feelings?

"Sougo," He watched the sandy-haired man stop in his tracks, "She's not a child anymore." If Sougo should take her away, then now would be the right time. Why would he wait? He decided not to pry any further.

Okita silently slid the shoji doors open, his back facing Hijikata.

"I know."

The shoji doors closed with a small thud, and Hijikata's tense shoulders relaxed. He knew what it felt like to be in love, and he hoped that Sougo wouldn't make the same mistakes that he made. He was young after all. But Sougo was patient when he needed to be, so he hoped it wouldn't be a problem.

Letting out a sigh, he took a bite of his yakisoba bread with mayonnaise spread all over the top and savored the taste, also tasting some strange spice, but brushed it off. His small moment of peace was sadly relinquished when he felt a sickening feeling in his stomach, which traveled all the way to his ass. Looking at his yakisoba bread, he threw it out of the room hastily, and then made a bee-line for the bathroom.

"SOUGO YOU BASTARD!"

* * *

Okita smirked as he heard a scream, a curse, and his name. "It looks like the laxatives took effect."

_That's right Hijikata, waste away in there and I'll have the position of Commander when I dispose of you later._

He walked out of the shinsengumi headquarters, ignoring the way people ran past his to observe the destruction currently taking place in the bathroom, planning to take a walk and annoy a certain china girl if he happened to find her at the park.

* * *

No. No way. Not again. No way in hell was this happening again.

Kagura clutched her head as she curled up in a ball in the closet. A concerned Gintoki on her right side had an arm around her shoulders, whispering reassuring words that she didn't take for granted, and Shinpachi on her left.

"Oi Kagura."

"…"

"Kagura." His voice was more firm this time. "Hey. Hey, look at me."

She slowly raised her head, her puffy eyes daring to spill more tears as she looked helplessly at her surrogate father. "Gin-chan….W-what's happening to me? I-It came back. After a-all the time I spent training with papi, I…I….." She sniffled and fell silent, all the while clutching her head, ready to pull her hair out. Never did the silver-samurai see his daughter looked so…..vulnerable.

This was serious. Shinpachi was now rubbing circles on her back, his eyes slanting dangerously as he made eye contact with Gin and nodded. Gintoki cursed. He didn't expect this to happen so fast, and so early. Looking back to Umibouzu's warning, it seems like he and Otose would have to make early preparations.

"Oi, Kagura." He shook her shoulders and placed both of her hands in his. "It's alright, your fine. Nothing is wrong with you. Nothing is going to happen to you while I'm here. The old hag, Shinpachi, and I already talked with your dad before you left. And there's something that we should tell you."

Seriousness overtaking the moment, Kagura stopped clutching her already aching head with the chained monster's voice echoing in there, and watched as her surrogate father took out an old, wrinkled letter from his yukata that had her papi's name on it.

"You need to find a _"mate."_"

* * *

A/N: Well, this was a pretty short chapter…damn…..i apologize profusely

& just when things were finally going well 4 the two sadists…xD I gave them more problems 2 deal with now xD

More insight on what's happening will be revealed next chapter

Til next time~


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Ch 4 is up!

**Chew Chew, **xD yerp poor Hijikata….let's take a moment to pay our respects to his anime self xD/shot/, **C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only, **ahaha yeaaa he does~ xD god I feel like such a mean author (although this might work in Sougo's favor xD /shotshotshot/. Anyways, thank u so much 4 informing me of the typo I made ^.^ I went back & fixed it as soon as I read ur review. & lolololzzzz the end of ur comment made me laugh soooo hard XDXDXD hijikata definitely needs 2 invest in life insurance….in every galaxy XDXDXD. **Chocopaste, **yerp, a mate xD hehehe thx! Keeping the sadist king in character while he's in love is kinda hard 4 me…..xD since he's the one and only amazing sadist we love and ship with our very own adorable china girl xD

Fangirling on latest Gintama ch (just something I felt like doing so skip 2 the chap if u don't wanna read this ^^): o.m.g. I swear 2 god I am like literally waiting 4 kamui 2 have his epic yato match with Kagura-chan! Sorachi sensei is keeping me on my toes with this whole arc so far! & Sougo! Omg Sougo! And zenzou! I swear 2 god this is keeping me on edge soooooo much! Plz update quickly sorachi sensei ur killing me here!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GINTAMA IT BELONGS TO SORACHI HIDEAKI

Enjoy~

* * *

Umbrellas and Swords

Ch. 4: Her decision, His reaction

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"…..You're joking." Kagura deadpanned. Screw her head. Screw the voices. Screw the tears. What the hell was he talking about?! A mate, like the ones in those animal stories or slutty shoujo mangas?! She needed answers. And she needed answers _now._

"I'm not kidding, Kagura." Gin replied, fish eyes now taking over as he nodded over to Shinpachi, who was stepping out of the apartment in the direction of Otose's snack shop just below the building. "The Old hag will be coming up any minute now. She'll explain to you what's happening."

She raised an eyebrow, "Why can't you or Shinpachi tell me?" It seemed questionable to her, since Gintoki has been her caretaker for all these years, he taught her everything she needed to know, which was mostly 99% dirty jokes and curses with an extra 55% of money in mind. Retracting from her thoughts, she watched as her surrogate father scratched his head.

"It would be better if you heard it from the old hag yourself." Although he honestly wouldn't mind if he was the one who explained the part to her, but having the old hag tell her would be more reassuring, since Otose was also a woman. Once he heard the door slide open again, he and Kagura looked over to see Otose standing at the doorway with Shinpachi in tow.

"Is it finally time?" Otose asked, catching the eye of the silver-samurai as she looked over to Kagura, still curled up in a ball, her hair a big pile of mess. "I see." Otose lit up a cigarette and pressed it to her lips. She walked over to Kagura and gently took her hand, giving her a reassuring squeeze. Kagura seemed to have relaxed at the action, seeing as that Otose was a responsible and caring person. And if Papi were to entrust any secrets concerning her to any of her guardians, the first one would be Otose (second would be Gin-chan and Shinpachi).

Otose pulled her up to her feet, and led her to the washroom. "Alright, well first, let's get you cleaned up. We'll discuss this after those two blockheads over there get out of the room."

Kagura nodded, following the deva to the showers. She could really use a shower now, after all that sweat that had been released in her already hot closet. Although it seemed that even if it was autumn, no matter what occasion it is, her closet was always the warmest place in the apartment.

This was turning out to be a shitty day.

* * *

"So, Kagura." Otose was drying Kagura's hair with a towel in the living room. Now clad in her non-sweaty, usual clothes, with her headache and the little voice gone, Kagura was curious as to what was so important that concerned her needing a "mate." She shuddered at that thought. Why would she need a mate? And who would she choose? The sudden image of sandy brown hair invaded her mind. She pushed that thought away as she tried to calm her already pink cheeks (from the shower) down before it erupted into a crimson red. _Stop it, he probably still hates you._

Otose lit another cigarette and pressed it to her lips, unwrapping the towel from the yato girl's hair as she threw it at Gintoki's face, who cursed and gave it to Shinpachi as they left the room to let the two women talk. "Your father sent Gintoki a letter, and visited me, concerning your situation not only as a woman, but as a yato."

Kagura raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Otose released a puff of smoke, which trailed off into the air. "Being a yato does give you unmeasurable capabilities, but it can also be dangerous when it's not taken care of. There is an old yato custom, which is used usually for yato women and men who have unnaturally pure blood from their ancestors." She paused to see Kagura listening intently.

"That custom prevents your yato blood from going out of control, from turning yourself into a monster. Your yato blood starts developing when you're born, and continues until you reach a specific age. In other yato's cases, it would be at the age of sixteen-,

_Sixteen. _The age Kamui was when he left her.

"-but your father took you with him five years ago to delay the process until you've reached a marriageable age, in his opinion."

Trying hard to absorb all of this information, Kagura raised her eyebrows again, wide-eyed and blushing. "M-marriage?! Papi was preparing me for that!? But we were only going around space killing mons…." Her voice trailed off and her blush faded away as her eyes widened again. Otose noticed that, and mentally commended her daughter-figure for figuring it out.

"Yes, your father was making you fight all those monsters to suppress your yato growth. Think of it as feeding food to the voice in your head. You wouldn't have any craving to kill anything because you were too busy with your job as an alien hunter or you were either training with Umibouzu-san. That prevented your power from going out of control all these five years."

Kagura nodded, too shocked for words to form. Taking that as an indicator to explain further, Otose carried on, "Fighting served as a stimulator to prevent your powers and your sanity from going out of control. And you can't do that anymore because it has gone too out of hand this time, which means you need a "mate.""

Kagura was old enough to handle this, old enough to understand that her sanity as a yato was dangerous if it was slipping. The first signs was the little voice coming back into her head. "Huh? What is having a "mate" going to help me with? ….And I don't think that they'll survive if I fight them." She murmured the last part softly, and remembered her battle with Abuto. The sheer bloodlust she felt radiating off of herself. The willingness to tear through flesh just to see the color that looked like Lycoris Radiata.

More smoke emerged from Otose's cigarette, "Because your "mate" is going to help you suppress your powers, and make sure the little voice in your mind doesn't take over." The old woman looked at the China girl and squeezed her cigarette. Kagura didn't deserve this. But the old woman would only be able to support her from the outside. Otose just hoped that the contents of Umibouzu's letter would work, or else the worst could happen.

"Fighting with your "mate" constantly is a way to suppress your powers, but that will only work for a little while. Your "mate" will become your lifelong partner, and he needs to possess a significant amount of strength." Otose eyed Kagura as she saw the woman blush. The deva watched her with a knowing smile, the vice-commander seemed to be a perfect choice in everyone's eyes.

The yato girl sputtered, trying to find the right words. "P-parter?! Why?!" A fiery red finally winning its place on her cheeks.

"Because you need to do _it _with someone you like don't you?" Otose deadpanned quite smoothly. Kagura was nineteen already and still a virgin. If someone should take her, the safest and best choice would be Okita Sougo. Otose made a mental note to kill him in his sleep if he ever hurt her.

The reaction on the China girl was priceless as her eyes widened in horror. "Wh-What?"

Her expression made the deva slightly quirk her lips into a half-smile.

Otose's smile regressed to a thin line as she put a hand on Kagura's shoulder. "Now stay calm until I explain everything." She saw her surrogate daughter give a stiff nod, and continued. "To suppress your yato powers, you either need to fight with your mate constantly, or you need to sleep with him." She paused to see Kagura's face contort into one of surprise and her face was as red as a tomato. It reminded her of her own expression when she first read the letter with Gintoki and received a visit from Umibouzu himself. Her cigarette literally dropped from her mouth. Pulling herself out of her thoughts, the old woman continued with her explanation. "It prevents your power from going out of control, converting the craving to fight, into "sexual fristration," which would result in that sexual frustration being released when you sleep with your "mate." You usually have to do this several times a year, but I don't think that will be a problem for you." Terada Ayano checked to see if Kagura was still handling this well.

She wasn't.

"WHAT!?" If Kagura had counted the many times that she had blushed, then all of them combined would not be compared to her state now. She kept denying the image of sandy-brown hair that her mind kept projecting every time the old hag said "mate." She watched Otose sigh.

"Usually the tradition of having a "mate" is done by siblings to keep the bloodline going—"

_Kamui_. For once in her life, Kagura was somewhat relieved that Kamui had left. But never in her life did she see, hear, nor smell Kamui have _any _interest in women, since he only thought about killing and "finding stronger enemies."" A click went off in her head as she pieced her thoughts together.

No wonder Kamui searched for stronger opponents. No wonder Kamui killed. No wonder Kamui left.

She was forced out of her thoughts so she could listen to Otose.

"-but times are different now." Terada Ayano lit a new cigarette. "And I don't think you have an interest in any other men as a "mate" other than the vice-commander, am I right?" Otose eyed Kagura with a knowing smile as she watched the woman turn an impossible shade of red, and then watched the blush die away almost immediately, which confused the old woman.

"I…I like the Sadist." Kagura stated with a hesitant look, and that morphed into guilt. "…..But he probably still hates me."

Otose couldn't believe what she just heard. "Kagura, why would you say that?" Just finally, _finally _when her daughter-figure stopped being so naïve to others around her and her own feelings, she was _still_ a dense little girl when it came to the oh-so-great subject of love. A chuckle passed through her lips as she thought of the sadist of the shinsengumi. Boy, he definitely has it tough, but she knew how the strange forces of love worked. After all, when you had a husband like Terada Tatsugoro, you would understand the complications of men. She inwardly chuckled at Okita's patience.

Kagura stared at Otose, and confessed to her about everything. About how she was too embarrassed to show her face to him, about how she never said goodbye to him, about how she never told him that she was leaving. And Otose listened. She listened with a knowing smile as Kagura poured her heart out to the old woman in the room. Once she was finished, she heard a wave of chuckling coming from Otose herself. She knew that the old woman would _never _make fun of anything serious she told her. Was she missing something?

As the chuckling died down, Otose cleared her throat and smiled at the girl again. "Kagura, it isn't that Okita-san hates you. He's giving you the space you need before you make a decision." If Kagura wouldn't be able to solve this problem on her own, then she was going to explain it to her. "You love the boy, and he's being patient with you since he thinks that you're not ready to make a decision whether to be with him or not." The old woman patted the red-haird woman on the head affectionately as the latter looked at her incredulously. "So you should tell him before his patience runs out."

Taking in her mother-figure's words with respect, Kagura mentally cursed at herself. How could she have be so stupid!? She suddenly felt a wave of embarrassment hit her again. She was worried so much about something that happened five years ago, and she was making such a big deal out of it! Swinging her legs off of the couch, Otose grabbed her hand before she ran out the door and gave her a small smile, "Come back here when you've settled your score."

Kagura smiled back at the old woman, and felt her let go of her hand. The yato girl dashed out of the apartment, which startled Gintoki and Shinpachi who were leaning against the wall, shouting curses as they watched their surrogate family member run down the stairs.

"Oi, where are you going!"

"Tax-robbers! I have an unsettled score with the Sadist!"

And with that, the two men could only see Kagura slowly disappeared into the crowds of Kabukichou.

* * *

Okita Sougo was a nap-lover. He thought that everyone deserved to enjoy the pleasantries of naptime, which in his case, was every time he was supposed to do work. Hiding away in his office; papers and inks scattered everywhere, he was leisurely napping beneath the kotatsu, his red mask lying next to his head, his arms leaning on the wooden surface, acting as a pillow for his head, and dreaming about finally killing Hijikata and attaining the position of commander.

LET THE OKITA EMPIRE BEGIN.

His beautiful dream was then interrupted when a wave a red was in his face. Trying to wave it away, he realized that this was indeed, not part of his wonderful dream. He closed his eyes again, wondering who in the world would be so cruel as to disturb his nap, which was the epitome of rest, the epitome of dreams, the epitome of getting away from _work_. Unless the person was Hijikata-san.

Feeling long pieces of hair brush against his face, Okita's eyes shot open as he sat up, face-to-face with the china girl, who was leaning just a hair's breathe from him. Expecting her to back away, he waited for a few seconds. She wasn't backing away, much to his surprise. Well, since she was here, there wasn't any reason for him _not _to annoy her.

"China." The nickname slipped out of his mouth like water.

"Sougo." She said his name with the utmost ease, and with a slight pink tint on her cheeks.

This time, he face showed genuine surprise for the first time in a while. Now _that, _was definitely something that he would not expect_. Ever. _

Shuffling her feet nervously for a moment, the china girl jerked her head upwards to face him. Pure determination were in her blue orbs.

"I love you."

Kagura willed herself to look at him in the face after that rather upfront confession of hers'. Although that was a bit…hard to do, considering the blush threatening to come up onto her face, and their current positions. Kagura was on her knees, tilting her face to the side, whilst Sougo was sitting upright, still wide-eyed in all of his glory.

What happened after that was a blur. Kagura remembered his hand grabbing her wrist and pulling her down under the kotatsu in a second. Muffling her colorful protests with a hand over her mouth, they waiting under there for a moment until footsteps could be heard walking into the room. She looked at his face, and understood exactly who it was.

Mayora.

She heard a curse faintly come from the raven-haired man's lips as he mumbled about 'that damn sadist not showing up for work,' and stayed around. Kagura, hearing the shuffling of paper on the outside, was tempted to see what the mayo man was doing. She extended her arm to the flap of the blanket. Before she could lift up the flap, she felt a hand grab her wrist and pull it away.

About to glare at him, it was then that Kagura realized the very 'intimate' and 'suggestive' position they were in. She was laying on her side, with Sougo facing her way and draping a lean, muscular arm around her waist, pulling her close to his chest. She felt his muscles under the contents of his red and white clothing. Not being able stand the heat, and the person that she just confessed to, she was about to protest and crawl out of the kotatsu until his arm tightened his hold on her, with another arm that was holding her upper body and head to his chest(1).

Dammit. She cursed under her breath. There was no way that she would be able to get out with him holding her, and she didn't want Mayora to see her coming out from such a suggestive position.

After that, another whirl of events took place. Before she was about to protest again, he brought her closer to him, apart from just a hair's breathe, and enveloped her in a kiss.

It started as just a light peck initiated by him, and then he brought his lips to her again. It tasted like tobasco sauce. _Disgusting._ But it was warm, and she could live with that. Recovering from her shock, she kissed him back, and they indulged themselves under the warm kotatsu.

It was a passionate kiss under the unbearable heat.

Kagura let out a small moan, which she immediately regret as the sadist completely dominated throughout their session. Breaking away, Okita was leaving trails of chaste kissed down her neck and stopped at her nape. Pausing for a moment to nuzzle his head into her neck, he moved his head away and bit down, leaving a hickey and earning a small yelp and a glare from the woman next to him. Smirking at her reaction, he readjusted his position and kissed her again, licking her lips to ask for entrance, which was granted. Exploring her mouth, he felt the china girl stick hers out too in response. Although she was inexperienced, she was doing pretty well for her first try, Okita noted. Both thoroughly enjoying their French kiss, Kagura had a hand through his hair and was slowly untying his ponytail. Okita was still keeping her petite body close to his.

Hijikata was long gone by now, and the kisses didn't stop. Running a hand through his silky long hair, the yato girl let out several small moans as Sougo deepened the kiss, their bodies practically mashed together. She was completely submissive, but she wanted to enjoy this moment, making sure to get her revenge later. It was their little game of dominance. And clearly, Okita was winning. But they didn't care about that right now. They wanted to indulge in this electrifying feeling.

And it was pure ecstasy.

Slowly, they parted, stopping to allow oxygen back into their lungs as they gasped for breath. Waiting for Kagura's panting to die down, Okita lightly brushed his lips against hers', and then brought his lips to her head, still not willing to let go of her yet.

"I love you too."

Okita Sougo was never one to tolerate the disturbance of a nap.

But this was a special exception.

* * *

A/N: Ahhhhhh Sougo XDXDXDXD what have i done 2 u XDXDXD

Well, here is a slight citrusy okikagu fanservice moment 4 u all

1.)Just think of Sougo hugging a body pillow, and that would be the position the 2 r in xD

I am really inexperienced with writing love/kissing scenes but I have read enough 2 be able 2 imagine it in my mind xD /shotshotshot/

Ok so ik I say this a lot but still, 4give me if I made the characters 2 ooc . *bows head and hides in a corner*

Til next time~


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Ch 5 is up!

**C.A.M.E.O.1 and ONLY, **yeaaa go okita empire xD! & aghhh, well, I can't really explain it 2 u, nor go into it 2 deep 4 certain reasons I have yet 2 disclose in my author notes xD, and it's sort of complicated. Kamui is a man who absolutely _adores _killing. So I don't think that he will ever find a "mate" in his life, plus the fact there are no women on board the harusame. Also, his killing sprees have developed into a sick habit since he tore off Umibouzu's arm, so I don't think even if he found a "mate," he would stop his habit of killing.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GINTAMA IT BELONGS TO SORACHI HIDEAKI

School is so stressing right now . writing & drawing r practically the only things that I could have fun in doing right now

Enjoy~

* * *

Umbrellas and Swords

Ch. 5: Explanations can be cut short. But some explanation don't even need to be explained

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"What? A "mate?"" After smoothing out the wrinkles in their clothes, and fixing one another's hairs into their rightful condition, erasing any traces of the heated session from before, Okita decided that this was by far the strangest, yet most pleasant day he had ever had.

Kagura sighed exasperatedly, looks like she was going to be the one to tell this idiot, much to her reluctance and embarrassment. "It's an old yato tradition, which I just learned from the old hag who was told by papi."

Okita quirked his eyebrows "And?"

Kagura blushed, fidgeting her feet. "…I need to do _it _with my "mate.""

"….So you've finally become this desperate haven't you, China."

Another blush threatened to crawl up her cheeks as she made an attempt to punch him in the face, which sadly was blocked by his rough hands. "I am not! This is a true story you stupid shithead!"

Okita smirked, "So you need to have sex with me in order to do what? China, I don't know of any yato condition that requires having sex with someone unless they want to help the Earth repopulate faster."

The vein on her forehead popped as she scrutinized the scumbag's very form. "If you want proof ask Gin-chan or Otose!"

* * *

"….Seriously?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much it Souichirou-kun."

"….So it isn't a lie." He thought to himself. No wonder the china girl from five years ago, curling herself up in a ball on the bench as if it was her only lifeline, looked so broken.

"YOU FUCKING SCUMBAG WHAT ELSE DID YOU THINK IT WAS?!" Scrutinizing the sadist's muscular form, Kagura face palmed. "Ahh, why do I have to have a mate like him?"

"Because you love me, and you want me in your bed." Okita deadpanned, at the same time dodging swift and deathly punches from the yato girl.

"Gin-chan~," Kagura whined. She and Okita were wrestling by now, rolling on the floor, bumping into the painful corners of furniture. "Is it too late to find another mate?" Her voice sounded desperate, which kinda, _kinda, _made the silver samurai pity his daughter.

Gintoki raised his hand in defeat, "Sorry Kagura, I have no say in this. Besides, I don't think that you need another mate other than Sofa-kun over there, right—?"

"Sougo-desu." Okita twisted his head towards Gintoki and quirked his eyebrow, whilst Gintoki responded with a dangerously sharp nod of his head. Manly eye contact and motions that Kagura deemed unworthy of knowing of.

_If you hurt her, I'll drown you in Otae's tamagoyaki and make sure you'll never use your **** again._

Okita nodded back, and dodged a fist from his mate. He should tell her about matters later. Right now, he would just indulge in their fun. It wasn't time yet, and until then, he would stay by her.

Only tomorrow was left.

Gintoki left the room, muttering something about 'leaving to go home and buy some strawberry milk.' Standing by the entrance was the mayo-loving commander of the shinsengumi, lighting a cigarette to relieve his unending stress.

Hijikata slanted his eyes in the direction of the silver-perm. "He didn't tell her yet?"

"How much do you know?" Gin asked.

"That the china-jou and Sougo are a potential weaponized steroid couple now that could tear Tokyo down to the very bone." Hijikata exhaled the smoke from his cigarette as he looked to Gintoki for more confirmation.

"So you don't know."

Hijikata's face contorted into one of confusion. "Hah? What are you talking about?"

Gin sighed, experiencing the exasperation of explaining it to yet another person. Telling the gorilla was enough, although past the squealing of the retired commander, he was a serious person through and through, making sure to "Let Sougo take good care of her." He yawned and scratched his head.

"Do you know what a "mate" is?"

* * *

"I hate you."

"Trust me China, the feeling is mutual."

They were currently sitting on one of the patios of the shinsengumi, reducing their wrestling scuffle to a verbal fight.

"I'm surprised mayora hasn't blew his steam at you yet whenever he goes into your office."

Okita shrugged, "Beats me, I nap when that happens."

Kagura scoffed and slapped his arm, thinking of another verbal threat waiting to inspire her.

"I'm leaving."

She turned her head towards him. Unsurprised, unfazed, and undaunted. He wondered if this was the right time to tell her. The emotionless mask that developed on her face unnerved him. Hell, it even scared him.

He couldn't tell what she was thinking anymore.

She watched the red leaves of the maple tree fly onto her lap. "I know."

He watched the light grace her features. "Since when?"

He noticed. The small flinch of her hand. That small flinch that even he wouldn't be able to see if not for his well-trained eyes.

Her eyes trailed to the ground, lightly poking at the leaves with her feet. "I heard a few of your men talking about it when I came to see you."

"…."

"Is it bad?"

"….Yeah."

Apparently, she got the gist. This mission was beyond the description of bad.

It was _horrifying._

"Are you going to ask for details?" He inquired, ready to tell her about the several stray yatos that had been rampaging around these areas lately. Ready to tell her that this was a suicide mission.

Ready to tell her that he might not come back.

"No," She picked her head up and turned to face him. Blue met red. "Because you'll come back."

And she said that with the utmost confidence in her eyes.

* * *

A/N: So…yea…..this was a pretty short chapter….gomen *cries in a corner*

Okita is leaving in two days 2 fight XD

So..yea, Sougo is going on a mission, and Kagura has faith in him *squeals* they r sooo kawaii xD

And no. The rampaging yato(s) is **NOT **Kamui. I swear.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Ch 6 is up!

**C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only, **hmmm, that would be interesting. Yerp, interesting indeed, but im sad 2 break it 2 you, Kagura isn't going 2 fight alongside okita when he goes on the suicide mission. Gomen TTATT. Although it would be extremely badass of her if she just popped up out of nowhere and saved his ass xD

hints of citrusy sexual scenes xD /shot

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GINTAMA IT BELONGS TO SORACHI HIDEAKI

Enjoy~

* * *

Umbrellas and Swords

Ch. 6: Before Dawn

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Gintoki stayed glued to the screen, watching as My Neighbor Pedoro played on the television. He cursed when something hit his head.

A strawberry milk carton.

Half empty.

Kagura stood at the doorway, watching with an amused expression as her father-figure stared back with the same dead fish eyes as before.

But this one was different.

How could she put it? A little more….compassion?

She tapped her foot, "I drank the other half."

Fish eyes, dead fish eyes still staring at her. "I figured…..damn brat."

That wasn't the answer she wanted.

She turned around in the direction of the door, and stopped when she felt something hit her head.

A strawberry milk carton.

Empty.

Gin stared her down with the same look as before. He raised his arm up lazily at her, motioning to the door.

"Go," He urged, "You're not a girl with half-assed feelings."

He felt the vibrations of the door opening and closing. The china girl had left.

Gintoki sighed, turning off the television that had already bored him to death. He brought his thoughts back to the other day when Okita Sougo had seen her off to Yorozuya Gin-chan.

"_I probably won't be coming back."_

_Gin stared at him, unfazed._

"_You will."_

It was ironic. To think that his daughter had chosen her rival as a mate. That sadistic, unpredictable, smug captain of the shinsengumi. Although it wasn't as if he was complaining. He owed a lot to that sadistic prince after all, starting with the assassination attempts on Hijikata's life.

Okita Sougo was a good man.

But he was a bomb.

A bomb that could go off any minute if he wasn't careful during the mission.

The impossible suicide mission with _three yatos. _

And if he went off, it would break her heart.

Crushing the bokuto in his hands, Gin settled onto the couch, fighting the urge to smash something. To break something into pieces. To curse at something. To yell at someone.

To let out his frustration.

Because they didn't deserve this.

Those two didn't deserve any of this.

And all of them knew that.

Gintoki walked out of the apartment, catching the fleeting figure of his daughter rushing to the shinsengumi.

_He will come back._

* * *

They sat in his room, leaning against the wall, doing nothing.

He was staring at her, tracing the linings of her clothes, the nape of her neck, all the way to her eyes. Those big, blue, sapphire eyes that could stare directly into your soul.

Complete innocence.

He will come back, and when he does, he will cherish her even more than he already does.

They were holding hands, only initiating small talk once in a while. Although neither one of them intended to talk anyway.

They just wanted to be near each other.

For now.

She was thinking. Questions buzzed around in her mind.

'_How long are you going to be gone?'_

'_Are you going to be alright?'_

'_Who else besides Nobume-chan and the Mimawarigumi are going?"_

'_Who are those yatos?"_

She didn't dare speak them out loud. She liked the little atmosphere surrounding them at the moment. It was disturbingly quiet, but pleasant. Unforced, and soothing, lulling her to sleep. She didn't dare let those questions pop back into her head.

Because she knows that he's going to come back.

It was night already, but Gin-chan and Shinpachi probably knew where she was staying for the night.

_Probably._

They were sitting on the patio, clutching each other's hands firmly as if it were a lifeline, refusing to look to tomorrow.

A few moments passed, and no words were spoken. Utter silence reigned, and the only sounds heard were the fireflies buzzing around the lights. Dancing beautifully without a care in the world.

How lucky.

Kagura looked at her feet. She couldn't stand the tension anymore. Both for her yato side, and for herself. It was burning her up, and she needed him. She needed him now. The utter uncontrollable feeling just added even more when the moonlight graced his masculine features. Without warning, she tilted her head up and lightly brushed her lips against his, red slowly coloring her cheeks.

"Now?" she asked.

Okita looked at her,

His walls were gone. "Now."

* * *

They were sitting on his bed. They were doing an awful lot of that lately, Kagura noted. Sitting.

But that was just a distraction. Yes.

It was her first time.

She had stayed pure and clean all these years.

And he knew that.

But pure or not, he was going to cherish her.

He was going to do this right.

Before dawn.

She felt him squeeze her hand, lightly tracing her collar bone with his other hand, up to where he left the mark that had faded.

The mark he gave her under the kotatsu.

The fact that he was staring intently at her wasn't helping at all. In fact, it only worsened her lust, as embarrassed she was to even think about it. Feeling the restraints already slipping since long ago, she fumbled around clumsily until she managed to slide the top half of his yukata off. As she was in the process of undressing his top half, she felt her white cheogsam slipping off of her shoulders as the sadist slowly and carefully undid her dress, brushing his fingers just over her shoulders and down. He kissed her again, clutching her to him tightly, in a sort of…desperate matter.

She felt like she was on fire. A good fire. An addictive one that made her crave more. Both half naked already, they did away with each other. Inexperienced, but warm. That was what described them. She felt his hand hesitantly pull away for a second before gently touching her shoulder, and that was what made Kagura realize that her mate was nervous. He was afraid that she would shy away, slip out of his hands. The walls around him were gone, but that last one, that very tiny one that he wouldn't let even her see was still there.

But she noticed it.

Feeling his lips brush over her neck, she sighed, content. "I'm not going to go anywhere."

And that last wall was gone. Slipping off of him like water, she felt him bury his face into her neck before kissing her chastely again.

They were facing each other whole-heartedly, defenseless, truthful, and bare.

And passionately.

This was the night before dawn.

This was a night to remember.

Lustful, but chaste kisses and clothes strewn everywhere.

And on the side observing, was an Umbrella and a Sword.

* * *

She woke up to the light peeking through the shoji screen doors.

_Too bright. _She cursed.

They were both beside each other under the warm blankets of the futon, and she still felt the incredible sensation coursing through her veins.

It was warm.

And she felt _safe_.

The little voice was gone, and right next to her was a sadist.

A cocky, sadistic, shitheaded sadist.

She moved her arm out the warm coziness of the blanket, and brought them to the nape of her neck.

The mark was back.

He marked her.

And she sighed with content.

She felt his eyes flutter open seconds later, although he was probably just pretending to sleep.

Cocky little bastard.

She shifted closer to him. "It wasn't a dream, right?"

He leaned his forehead over to hers, giving her a light headbutt. "No."

He felt her bare body make contact with his, inching as close as she can, scavenging for the warmth that orginated from last night. Focused on shifting closer to him, her mouth moved incoherent words that he was barely able to pick up.

And they were words that he didn't like this time.

"…It's dawn."

"…It is."

* * *

She was sitting on the patio, peeling an orange that she took from the shinsengumi fridge for herself. "Don't cause too much trouble for Nobume-chan."

Okita quirked an eyebrow. "That's impossible." He felt an orange slice hit his head, which conveniently tumbled down onto his hand, and made its way into his mouth.

Kagura sighed, "Hopeless."

Leaning on the tatami doors for support, Sougo focused his eyes on the china girl, taking in her features as the sun kissed her skin. He wanted to kiss her, but he wanted to make this moment last.

And it did.

For a little while.

Moments later, Kagura stood up, bouncing the orange up and down her hand. Her back faced the sadist. "I should go."

Okita stayed silent. He knew that their moment wasn't going to last forever.

But he couldn't help pulling her in for another kiss. She stopped in her tracks, completely ignoring her last statement, and was kissing him back passionately. The burning feeling in her stomach returned, and they stayed like that for a long while, only pulling away once their lungs were begging to have air in them. The burning feeling was gone. And she wanted it back.

And she will have it back.

Stepping on her tip toes, she brought her lips to his ear, whispering.

"You better come back."

"I will."

The orange lay on the dirt, forgotten as the Sadist watched the China girl disappear out of the Shinsengumi compound.

* * *

A/N: Hey guys, so yea, ch 6 was a sweet rollercoaster filled with citrusy…mating? xD xD /shotshotshot

I am soooooo tired right now, school is stressing, hw is piling, lessons r excruciating, but hey, I'm 100% sure that all of u feel my pain xD

Til next time~


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: ch 7 is up!

**Chew Chew, **thx! ^^, **ahsoei, **yerp xD thrilling indeed (if u know what I mean xD /shotshotshot), **C.A.M.E.O.1 and only, **yup xD Okita definitely can't make dying an option if he has Kagura-chan 2 think of xD

Critiques r greatly appreciated

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GINTAMA IT BELONGS TO SORACHI HIDEAKI

Enjoy~

* * *

Umbrellas and Swords

Ch. 7: Hospitals are the worst places to be in sometimes

.

.

.

It had already been two weeks, and there was no news of Okita Sougo's return, nor any remnants of information regarding his squad or the Mimarawigumi.

Gintoki looked at the empty carton of strawberry milk, uselessly taking up space, and rotting away on the kitchen counter.

He will come back.

Because there was _no way_ that he would leave her alone.

Other than him, Kagura was brimming with her normal self. Bubbly, happy, and always chewing on those damn pieces of sukonbu. Gintoki watched as she scratched Sadaharu's belly, whispering soothing words to the inugami as a bright smile graced her face. Although, it would've been better if she just told him about it. Gintoki looked back to the first week of the sadist's absence, she was the same as ever. It was even enough to almost fool him.

_Almost._

Although he would have never found out if he didn't go for a piss in the middle of the night. It was sad, but she wasn't ready to confide in him about it. Kagura wasn't a selfish girl, and she was born to take care of herself, seeing as she had a terminally ill mother, a workaholic father, and a brother that never came home in the end.

He saw her outside the apartment building, sitting on the stairs with such a dazed look on her face. She had stubbornly refused to tell anyone that she was lonely, that she obviously missed the presence of the sadist. Gin didn't know whether to call his daughter stubborn or stupid.

But she was strong.

A loud ring from the doorbell awakened him from his thoughts. Shinpachi was out spending time with Kirara-chan at the moment, and Kagura was in the middle of brushing the knots out of Sadaharu's hair.

The doorbell had been ringing for a long time now, up to the point where Kagura assaulted him with that outrageous mouth of hers'.

"GIN-CHAN, GET THE DOOR!"

"SHUT UP YOU DAMN BRAT I'M ALREADY THERE!"

"THEN OPEN THE DOOR! THE CUSTOMER WILL GET ANGRY IF YOU MAKE HIM WAIT."

"NO ONE WAS WILLING TO ANSWER THE DOOR IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

Sighing, Gintoki casually opened the door with a flick of his wrist, money-making face on. "Hello, welcome to Yorozuya Gin-chan, we take money first, and jobs lat—"

His face immediately deflated into a lazy expression. "Oh, it's just you."

"WHO THE HELL WERE YOU EXPECTING?!" Hijikata cursed under his breath, smoke daring to float out of his ears. He pinched the cigarette with his two fingers, ignoring the slight burn of his fingertips.

"He's in the hospital."

The last thing the two figures saw was a whoosh of red hair out of the door.

* * *

White. So. Fucking. White.

He hated white. They were the colors of the walls when his sister died. The colors of her hospital clothes, her skin, the colors that she wore in his dreams.

Hateful.

Next to him was a counter filled to the very last inch with get-well baskets, most likely from the shinsengumi. Of course, the first face that he had seen since he opened his eyes was to a tearful Kondo.

"Sougo, you're awake!" Trying in vain to wipe away his tears, Kondo's snot dripped from his nose to the collar of his uniform.

Disgusting.

"Obviously." He said back, struggling to stay conscious. He traced the IV tube dripping liquid into his system.

Kondo brushed away his tears with his finger. "You gave us a good scare." Managing a warm smile, the Gorilla patted the young man's shoulder, which hurt, but he didn't wince. "You have several broken ribs, a gash on the side, and you lost a lot of blood." The rest were just cuts and bruises.

"It's not my fault those yatos went Kamehame ha on me." He deadpanned, bored. Of course, this wasn't an easy mission. Hell, it was far from easy. Right when they finally tracked down those three yatos after a week of searching, the three monsters decided to bankai their umbrellas and shoot more than three quarters of the mimawarigumi dead, or severely wounded.

So much for the _elite_.

The rest of the battle was a blur to him. Eventually, he and Nobume, along with Sasaki, led the yatos into a large, abandoned building, and apparently almost killed themselves blowing up the building, killing the yatos in the process.

Reinforcements came later, and he remembered the concerned and urgent faces of Hijikata and the other shinsengumi compatriots.

He really didn't mind dying. His sister was gone, killing Hijikata was more of a pastime, and there wasn't anyone willing to pick a fight with him anymore….until she came back.

She didn't know the rash of suicide missions that he had conducted during the past five years of her absence. She didn't know that he did all of those missions just to get _her_ out of his mind. Although, none were as dangerous as when he fought the yatos.

They weren't _nearly _as dangerous.

And for the first time in his life, Okita Sougo felt a wave of relief wash over him.

He was happy to be alive.

And he was not going to leave her alone.

* * *

"Hijikata-san~." Okita threw an apple at his face. Hijikata caught it and his face soured. The apple had a worm in it.

"What." The commander said, throwing the apple in the trashcan and pulling out a cigarette from his pocket.

"I'm not going to do them for a while."

Hijikata exhaled, smoke disappearing into the air. He knew what he was talking about. "I figured. You're too injured to do any of that anyway." Although his wounds were still serious, it was a surprise to many as to how he managed to survive against not one, but three yatos. Not to mention the amazing speed of his recovery (although they were indeed much slower than a yato's).

Hijikata took a drag at his cigarette. "Just don't be reckless anymore."

He opened the door, ready to walk out.

"Bastard." Okita deadpanned.

Hijikata stopped at the doorway.

"Coming from a guy who rushed into a joi supporter's group alone to avenge aneue, I'd say that says more than just three yatos." He smirked.

Hijikata didn't turn around to face him. Putting out his cigarette, he stopped at the doorway again, just for a moment—

"Just be grateful that you're alive."

And closed the door.

His eyes were bored. He wasn't stupid, he knew where that bastard mayora was coming from.

And sometimes he wished that Mitsuba was still alive.

Sunken deep into his thoughts, the clattering of the door brought him back, and led him to someone that made his stomach do several instinctual flips.

A China girl.

* * *

Walking in with disheveled hair, she trudged over to the hospital bed that he was laying in. She observed his figure from head to toe, searching for any injury or problem that hadn't been patched up by the bandages that covered his body.

"Is it bad?"

His eyes closed, then reopened again. "Broken ribs, a gash, and blood loss. This is as good as my day can get."

Kagura quirked an eyebrow. "Then what about me?"

Okita faintly scoffed, sleep slowly disappearing from him. "Ask again later."

She felt her lips twitch slightly.

He was the same.

The same old Sadist.

Sitting on his bed, she took a box manju from the counter of shinsengumi gifts, and slowly opened it, bringing one to her mouth. "Nobume-chan is alive, recuperating in a different room." Kagura remembered the way she unconsciously let out a relieved sigh when she met Sasaki Isaburo, in crutches, just limping out of her hospital room. Wasting no time in seeing her friend, she wrenched the door open and was met with the woman's guarded eyes on her, softening once she recognized the China woman and silently accepted the sudden hug.

"That's unfortunate." He bluntly stated.

Kagura tossed a maju at his head, which he unfortunately caught with the hand that didn't have tubes pumping fluids into him.

She sighed, almost sighing again in relief at the sound of his voice.

_Almost._

She remembered the feeling of eternity from those past two weeks, waking up in a cold sweat, having nightmares about him getting ripped apart by _them_.

By _Her._

But he was _back_.

And her nightmares _will_ stop.

She took his hand, making sure that the whole thing was real. That this wasn't just a dream.

It was _warm. _He was _alive, _and he was _here_.

Okita didn't say anything when she carefully lowered her upper body to his chest, feeling his heartbeat. Feeling the warmth radiating off of her, Okita Sougo instinctively pulled her closer to him with his good arm, feeling the burning sensations in his stomach. It was strange, but comforting nonetheless, and he wanted to kiss her so badly.

Staying in that position for a while, Okita unwrapped his arm from her torso and tipped her chin up, kissing her.

She reciprocated it, closing her eyes and sighing in content, and relief, relishing the moment while it lasted. Finally pulling away after several minutes, she looked up at her mate, watching his eyes flicker with untold emotions. But he didn't have to tell her for her to know.

She sighed again, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Don't do that ever again."

But she knew that _that _was impossible…..and inevitable.

And he did too.

"Mm."

Their precious lies, and unkept promises.

Sometimes, Kagura wished that she wasn't a yato—

"Aren't you two getting along well." A voice chirped, the window was open.

Because yatos had so many problems—

Her head immediately shot up from his shoulder, her partner was fully alert, and she was ferociously glaring at the shadow leaning against the window.

And he was one of those problems—

He waved his hand, "Hiya," he smiled.

One of those problems that kept coming back.

"Imouto-chan."

* * *

A/N: Soooo how was it? Good? Bad? xD

So yea, **C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only, I think I remember you asking about Kamui in a review, and this was part of the info that I couldn't disclose 2 u xD**

Yerp, Kamui's back, and ready to go wild yandere mode xD

Oh dear god, Sougo has a lot of shit going down for him. Then again, so does Kamui and Kagura xD

Til next time~


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Ch 8 is up!

**Chew Chew, **kamui's baack xD, **C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only, **probably just the blood of newly killed people xD /shotshotshot/, **ahsoei, **depending on the circumstances, this will be quite the reunion xD, **ShikiUploadz, **definitely no doubt about that xD, **Guest, **indeed a terrifying match xD, thx ^^

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GINTAMA IT BELONGS TO SORACHI HIDEAKI

Enjoy~

* * *

Umbrellas and Swords

Ch. 8: Family reunions can go to hell

.

.

.

"Kamui." She growled lowly, blindly grasping for her umbrella. "What the hell are youdoing _here_?" Her brother. This was her brother. Standing in front of her was the one who abandoned her and her mom, who decided to almost kill her at Yoshiwara, who told her that he had no use for weaklings.

Her brother, the one who had left her when she needed him the most.

"I came to pick you up." His eyes were closed, not a single crack in that damn perfect mask of his.

Kagura raised an eyebrow warily, feet poised to attack, "Pick me up?" Okita observed the older yato. The continuous flickers of bloodlust radiating off of him made him narrow his eyes.

Dangerous.

Very, very dangerous.

"Someone must've told you about a mate, am I right?" His tone sank to a slightly deeper level. A level that practically screamed danger to the two.

Kagura's face paled drastically as she stared at her brother with wide eyes.

"_Usually, the tradition of having a "mate" is done by siblings to keep the bloodline going—."_

For the first time ever in her life, Kagura wished that Kamui was dead. Okita's eyes slanted dangerously as he eyed his sword. Looking from each yato sibling, Okita came to a distinct, and yet obvious realization. His head snapped back over to Kamui, still leisurely sitting on the window.

"Why her?" Two words. Two words that made Kamui's eyebrow slightly twitch. Kagura didn't notice it. She instead turned over to her mate, giving him a questioning look.

But he did.

"If you wanted a yato, then wouldn't it be easier to find another one instead of settling on your sister? That's called incest you know. Or you could swing the other way and take your subordinate for a one-night-stand." Okita deadpanned.

Kagura mentally slapped herself. Of course, why would Kamui, the one who broke off all ties with his family, the one who selfishly decided that she was weak, the one who almost killed her, want to take her as his mate? Of course, there must be other yato women, or a really strong human, but her mind lingered to the two words spoken from her mate moments ago.

Kamui didn't make any move towards his purple umbrella despite the itching feeling to grab it. Smiling as always, he felt for the first few minutes of his visit, the earthling in front of him was extremely irritating, almost initiating his hand to reach out to his umbrella and shoot him dead.

But he couldn't do that.

Because he was Kagura's.

And Kagura needed him.

But Kamui needed her too.

Of course, he wouldn't kill him off….yet. But he was going to take his little sister with him. The clan was dying, obviously, and the yato women that fled were, well, practically on the verge of extinction and have died, or are either hibernating in some faraway planet. He also wouldn't tell her about the growing bloodlust that was always there. In fact, it got worse over the past five years. Each year he was losing control over his sanity. Each year the gore and unrecognizable faces rises to a higher level.

Each year, he begins to question why he left home.

Ironic. To think that he needed help from his petty little sister. The little sister whom he told, "I have no use for weaklings."

The earthling was strong. Hell, he might be able to put up a fight if he wasn't so wounded. Right now he could kill the earthling off easily without batting an eyelash, but that would just result in his plan being terminated.

Kamui raised his hand towards his little sister. "I could shoot that earthling over there anytime."

Okita quirked his eyebrow, half annoyance, half exasperation. Of course, Okita was going to be the "hostage" in his little plan. True enough, he was badly injured, and definitely in no condition whatsoever to fight. His safety depended on Kagura's decision, and yet again, he felt the same sick feeling that pooled into his stomach. The same feeling when he was holding his aneue's hand as he watched her die.

Helplessness.

He let out a dry chuckle, never taking his eyes off of Kamui. It's always the sibling that manages to fuck things up.

Life really was a bitch.

* * *

Kagura was most definitely not a person of submission. In contrast to all of those pitiful heroines who self-sacrificed their lives for the "greater good" of someone, she preferred to fight for it.

And she did.

She lunged, letting out an echo of a war cry while throwing her umbrella at the place Kamui was currently occupying.

Unfortunately, it was beautifully dodged by the older yato with several years more experience than her, and she hated that. She refused to lose her cool like she did years back. Kagura inhaled, making use of her Papi's teachings, slow-motion seeming to take place.

In. Out. In. Out.

Kamui observed his little sister with a placid smile, watching as her eyes slanted, half-closed. Concentrating. She was in the zone, and she was ready to fight him. Kamui's smile slightly brightened at the idea of testing his sister's newly found strength.

It looks like he'll have to take her by force.

* * *

Damn her brother. Damn the stupid yato blood. Damn the mating tradition.

Kagura was currently struggling against her brother, who, in fact, decided not to mate in his whole entire life. He was winning, much to her many attempts at taking his head off.

Graceful, yet powerful swings of his umbrella made Kagura unconsciously grit her teeth each time, the force of it almost making her knees buckle. She quickly reassembled her concentrated mind, taking on an almost feral look as she attempted to land a hit.

Even if she was losing.

And yet, she didn't want to give up, because the moment that she saw her damn brother's eyes open, when the layers of his masks were peeled and stripped bare, where the secrets of his emotions lied, all that was left was madness. Complete and utter madness. And she knew that he needed someone.

So she fought for him.

And for herself.

* * *

He was losing himself.

No, not yet.

It wasn't enough.

Kamui saw the shinsengumi sadist's eye glare at him with an almost bloody red as he watched his mate struggle against her brother.

Her very own brother.

It wasn't his fight though, so the bakufu dog stayed quiet, his sword leaning dangerously next to him if the worst were to happen.

Kamui was smiling. No, it was more like maniacal grinning as he fought against his very own blood.

"Are you ready to come with me now?" His smile loomed over her resisting eyes as his little sister cursed an infinity amount of profanities at him.

A disturbance in the air made him jump back as two swords were flung towards his face. His head turned to Okita, who had a grip on an empty sword sheathe, and then turned his eyes to an unfamiliar woman.

"I won't allow you to take her."

He didn't fail in watching his little sister release a childish cry of relief as her eyes landed on a familiar figure. "Nobume-chan!"

It wasn't that his eye twitched because of the woman. It was because his hand trembled.

It was getting worse.

That action didn't go unnoticed by the mimawarigumi elite.

In a flash, he leapt out of the window, only saying a few words beforehand, the very same smile plastered to his face.

"I'll be back."

* * *

He didn't come. Not after a few hours, nor the next day, or the day after that.

Looks like he couldn't properly greet his brother-in-law.

Okita was discharged from the hospital a few days later, and in a month's time, most of his injuries have healed.

He watched as Kagura stirred in the comfortable bed sheets of the futon, a small trail of drool lining her mouth.

Just when had he started falling for her? He wondered how love was even possible. It was probably after aneue's death, he supposed. He remembered intoxicating himself in his room, almost blanching at her in surprise as the china girl let herself in.

He remembered when she propped herself into a sitting position next to him, not bothering to spark up any sort of conversation. He wasn't in the mood for talking anyway, but he did anyway. To relieve the stress, to ease his annoyance at God, to tell someone about his great aneue, who wasn't wasted away, who didn't have false love, who wasn't stupid for waiting for a man that wanted her happiness.

And she listened.

"_Mitsuba-nee is the best sibling you could ask for, yes. My brother will never be like her."_

He remembered her face as she mentioned her older sibling, deciding not to ask about it.

"…_.Thanks."_

He remembered the genuine smile on her face, and felt something in him stir that time.

Yup, now all he had to deal with was her psychotic brother who apparently is interested in raping his little sister.

Just perfect.

Although he couldn't help but let his mind wander again. What happened to her brother now? Where the hell is he?

The China girl stirred again, this time fully away and thinking the same things as him.

He flicked her forehead, earning a number of curses from her.

Yatos were truly troublesome creatures.

* * *

She was busy cleaning her sword, her hands expertly running over the sharp edges of her katana.

Her mind then wandered to the man that dared to take Kagura-chan with him. Judging from physical appearances, he was a family member…..most likely her brother.

Nobume wasn't one to pry, but Kagura was her friend, and a part of the sisterhood sadist three. She was an innocent friend, if not a sister figure to her. The china girl was one of the only people who understood her, who she actually tolerated, who didn't look away when she brought up the name 'Mukuro.'

Her old name.

And the china girl said that it didn't suit her.

Nobume didn't mind her old name, she didn't mind the people commenting behind her back, saying that she was emotionless, expressionless, a perfect, lethal weapon for the tendoshu.

Kagura-chan said that they were "the worst scumbags in history."

And Nobume found her interesting.

Nobume narrowed her eyes to the corner of the room, gripping her sword as she slowly walked over. It wasn't a threat.

Just a china boy.

He was casually sitting on the wooden porch, munching on a donut from her now empty donut box.

He felt a cold blade press at the back of his neck. "Yes?"

"Hand the donut over." It was the latest edition of Pon de Rings.

He brought the donut up to his mouth, swallowing it whole with a sickening gulp.

Nobume had never felt this much hatred towards this abomination than ever.

"THROW IT UP!" Dodging her attacks, Kamui flipped around the room, leaving a trail of rubble as the swordswoman continuously tried to destroy his ****.

He dodged a swing. "You're weaker than imouto-chan."

Her sword stopped, just right in between the space of his eyebrows.

Nobume narrowed her eyes, "Your sister's not weak." Biting back the rage of him eating her donut, Nobume saw through the cracks of his eyelids, the small amount of emotion held in between. His mask slid of, but only slightly, only to reposition itself back on again.

"I know."

Nobume continued to try to lop his head off for the rest of the night.

* * *

A/N: sooo…im sorry with such a late update….shitty chapters,,,,I know…

Days are shorter, school is longer, tests are endless, homework is hell, studying feels like shit.

OOC Nobume...i know

Hope you guys are having a good school year so far. im sooooo excited 4 season 5 of the walking dead! *squeals* 7 more day left xD

Til next time~


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Ch 9 is up!

**Ahsoei, **yaaaaass okikagu & kamunobu, the typical pair cuz the author was clueless as 2 whom she should ship admiral nincompoop with xD /shotshotshot/, **C.A.M.E.O.1 and only, **yea…not my very best chapter…XDXDXDXD….but yeah, lots of stuff going on xD, Kamui's….well, let's just say that I've turned him into an incestuous pervert that hasn't released his sexual frustration in like 20 years XDXDXDXD /shotshotshot although, I swear, that will be resolved in this chapter with u know who xD

Just so u guys know, the reason why kamui doesn't find a mate yet is cuz he doesn't have anyone he loves. Although it's true that he's a total jackass to his sister and a total yandere. Outside of killing, Kamui is very, and I repeat, VERY, innocent. At least that's what I believe. Kamui is the type of guy, in my eyes, who does not have a clear view on anything except killing and battle strategies, and everything else is half-assed thinking that is pushed into the very corners of his mind. So if Kamui has something he's set on doing, he will definitely not be half-assed about it. Therefore, if Kamui ever found someone he loves, then I believe he will stay committed (as weird as that might be). He already takes such a commitment to killing lots of people already…..xD

Anyone read ch 153 of gintama yet? XD I am soooooo excited 4 kagura-chan & kamui's battle XDXDXD

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GINTAMA IT BELONGS TO SORACHI HIDEAKI

Enjoy~

* * *

Umbrellas and Swords

Ch. 9: There are always situations where you will say, "Hey, this isn't so bad at all."

.

.

.

It had been a habit, just passing by the mimawarigumi.

Although the thing that initiated him to come was when he smelled the aromatically sweet biscuits coming from one of the rooms, coincidentally, that violent woman's room. But the donuts were delicious, and that expressionless woman was quite interesting, a convenient waste of time. The other fact was that he needed a distraction from all the blood.

You know, _minor _yato problems.

Complicated stuff.

Although sometimes, he wonders. Why did he do it? Why did he leave home?

But he already knew the answer to that.

Even if it was a lie.

That interesting woman. 'Nobume-chan', his weak little sister had called her as. He had to be careful around her. That white police dog. She could see through him, even more than that shinsengumi dog.

But he still kept coming back.

It had already been a month, and he still kept coming back to that shinsengumi-copy compound. Although it was mostly because of the donuts that his sensitive nose has smelled.

And the fact that she was the only one that he could tolerate being around, with his situation and all.

He didn't even bother meeting with his little sister again. He was too weak. Too vulnerable.

Too powerful.

And he needed someone. Needed someone like he needed air.

And sometimes, she listened.

That expressionless woman, she sometimes listened. Sometimes. And it was only on those "sometimes," she would offer her opinion.

_He was lying on the porch, feigning sleep. "I'm breaking."_

"_Then fix yourself." She took a bite of her Pon de Ring, licking away the pink frosting smearing her cheek._

"_That's not possible."_

"_Then find something that's going to make you stay together."_

"_That's not possible either." Because Kagura was out of his reach._

"_Then just eat a donut."_

_He chuckled. "Then you'll try to cut off my ****, will you not?"_

"_Then that can be your reason." She groped the insides of the box for another donut. "Although it's a stupid reason." She deadpanned._

_He didn't say anything as light snores from him filled the room._

* * *

She wasn't really bothered by that red-haired yato's existence.

Well, besides the fact that he ate her donut.

She had also cooperated with him on one of her missions. Very long ago, when the mimawarigumi conspired with the Kiheitai. Although he probably doesn't seem to remember.

She concluded in the back of her mind that he wasn't very good at lying. Although, judging by his facial expressions, he seemed to do it successfully every time.

How stupid.

Nobume realizes then, she never really told Isaburo, or Kagura-chan.

Oh well, he wasn't on their kill list….yet. So she didn't have to bother with him. But Kagura-chan, she doesn't need to know about him yet. Kagura-chan already has a lot of things that she doesn't know yet…..or doesn't need to know, especially concerning that bastard. She probably doesn't even know what Okita did yet, unless he had already told her.

That sadistic shinsengumi bastard.

But it had nothing to do with her. Neither did that yato boy.

So childish, too innocent.

Too red.

And she knew he needed help.

But it was none of her business.

None at all.

* * *

Midnight. It graced her dull features. The white yukata she sleeps in, the red in her eyes.

And it graced him.

It graced him as he leapt onto the porch, obviously trying to come unnoticed.

She set down her sword, and walked over.

And there she found him, trembling as he sat there, mute.

A broken, china boy.

It was too much for him.

The blood was already taking over.

And she knew that(1).

She walked over there, light and normal paced steps. Left, right, left, right.

He raised his head to meet hers, staring into her perfectly dull expression.

And he looked insane.

"Aren't you going to arrest me now?" He inquired, a light bounce in his tone.

She wasn't fazed at how he was smiling.

And he knew that.

Nobume kneeled down, and sat herself next to him. "This is what you meant."

This wasn't any of her business—

"What do you mean?" He smiled.

Fake.

This wasn't any of her business—

"…Liar." She deadpanned, cupping his face into her hands. He didn't resist. He felt strangely used to her presence.

This wasn't any of her business—

Bringing her face a hair's inch away from his, she kissed him.

Not at all.

He didn't say anything. Exhaling, he kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her, too desperate to go back now.

It was already too late, anyway.

Although that suited him just fine.

Since he didn't mind this small moment.

Not at all.

* * *

A/N: Ok, thanks 2 a certain someone coughcough**ShikiUploadz**coughcough, I have become a tremendous fan of Kamunobu….xD

So yea, late update. I know. OOCness radiating off of everyone? Definitely. The rushed chapter & uncontrollable plot? The author is trying her best 2 figure out how to control this story….despite that she's a procrastinating lazy-ass /shotshotshot/

Btw, if u didn't get the hint by the end of the chapter already, Nobume & Kamui had sex

The reason why Kamui complied to nobume's antics/help was because she was the only female human that he was closest to. Nobume is also a killer, and she understands where Kamui is usually coming from. The other reasons are cuz she has donuts with her and the fact that she interests him, like, the cliché romantic style way. Expect more bloody and kamui-style. Oh god, what have I done 2 the 2 of them XO

** Kamui did that epic stunt of jumping out of that hospital window, Kagura told Nobume about the yato tradition & stuff, yerp**

So yeah, there's still more untold stuff going on with okita and Kagura, and Kamui still has unfinished business with Okita (so does okita xD), and nobume has stuff 2 tell Kagura…..oh god I am just making this story so much longer than it actually should be….damn myself 4 being so sidetracked, now the plot is spiraling out of control .…agh...now the mating thing is becoming a side problem xD….aghhhhh jesus…I should probably change the summary & title of this story, any suggestions or opinions?

Til next time~


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: ch 10 is up!

**C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only, **indeed xD u are right xD. **Ahsoei, **Thank u very much 4 ur opinion ^^ I was beginning 2 question whether or not the title was conveying the right message or not xD, & thx ^^ I like writing kamunobu from time to time, **alert 1, **thx ^^

I am soooo excited 4 the next chap if gintama xD Kagura vs Kamui & gintoki vs Takasugi *fangirls*

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GINTAMA IT BELONGS TO SORACHI HIDEAKI

Enjoy~

* * *

Umbrellas and Swords

Ch. 10: Reconciliation and secrets

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.

They were under a family-sized kotatsu in the Mimawarigumi compound.

An admiral nincompoop, a china girl, a bakufu dog, and a bakufu dog copy-cat.

Kagura slightly shifted towards Okita, passing small glances of accusation at her brother.

Kamui smiles.

Half-lidded, Okita's eyes were a duller shade of red. "So," he starts, "What's this?"

Nobume stared at them with bored eyes, "Reconciliation." She mutters.

Kagura sees the way her brother's hand is laced around her friend, and she realizes. A weight seems to be lifted off of her chest, and she lets out a small sigh of relief. She grasps Okita's hand, at the same time staring at her older brother.

It doesn't mean that she still forgives him.

Although he probably doesn't give a damn about that.

They stare at each other for a long time, up until where her eyes started to hurt.

She bites her lip and feels Okita's hand clenched tightly around hers'. "Alright."

Kagura gives her mate a slight look of fear as he untangled his hand from hers, his touch lingering, still burning her to the very bone. A good burn. Kamui watches them with a small glint in his eyes as Okita and Nobume left the room.

* * *

"You haven't told her yet." It was more of a statement than a question as the words pierced through the air like a knife.

And Okita knew that.

He opened an eye, the other closed. "What do you mean?"

Nobume narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Sooner or later she's going to know about what you did in the past five years." Her eyes retained a dangerous glow to them. "If you don't tell her now, you're going to regret it."

Okita exhaled.

He knew. He knew that. But he won't tell her. He won't tell her.

Ever.

He smiled bitterly. "And what is she going to do when she finds out?"

He wondered, imagined scenarios in his mind so many times before. Imagined the conversation he will never hold with her.

He still remembers. Remembers the desperate feeling of doing so many things to just get her out of his head.

Even if that included sleeping with numerous counts of women.

How stupid was he?

He felt something hard collide with his cheek, and doesn't flinch.

He never did.

Nobume's hand dropped to her side, "Kagura isn't like you." Her voice was dull, emotionless. But the numerous flickers of emotion defined just how annoyed she was.

Positioning her back against the tatami door again, Nobume closed her eyes.

* * *

They were sitting across from each other, observing each other.

Analyzing.

Kagura, tired of their staring contest, finally caves and sends him a tired look.

"I hate you."

He still smiled, unwilling.

Hesitant.

"I know." He lightly chirped.

She stared at him again, cursing under her breath at that damn perfect mask of his. Why couldn't he just cave once in a while? Placing her head on the wooden surface of the kotatsu, she let her hair cover her face. A very convenient use of hair.

Her voice lets words escape from her mouth. Words that she never thought she would get to ask him, "…Why didn't you come home?"

She still hated him.

For a fraction of a second, his smile drops, and he looks tired.

"The same reason why you left with our bald dad."

She pauses, "…But you never came back."

He smiles, Kagura can feel it, even if her head is on the table.

She hated him so much.

"Why did you decide to come back now?" She didn't mean to whisper, for her voice to sound broken, but if she didn't, she would've yelled. Yelled until her voice hurt, yelled until she drilled it into his head.

Yelled until he understood how many nights she spent, wondering if she was that much of a burden to him.

And he stayed silent. Her head refused to leave the table, so she traced imaginary circles on the wooden surface with her eyes. The answer he was about to give her didn't answer her previous one, but she didn't say anything.

It was enough.

"….I wanted to make sure that you were out of my life." He looked up at the ceiling. "Out of my way. Out of harm."

Her brother was stupid.

"Away from the "baka aniki" that couldn't give you anything."

And she listened, and she was glad that he left the room first.

Because she didn't want him to see her blurry eyes, nor the tears that trickled down her face as she furiously blinked.

Once she heard the tatami doors slide to a close, she kept her head on the table, uttering several curses.

"Baka aniki."

She knew that her baka aniki was close enough to hear her from behind the tatami door.

* * *

Okita Sougo didn't say anything when the older of the siblings exited the room. He just glanced at him, watching as Nobume looked up.

"So?" Her tone was bored, as if she was expecting a result.

His smile was back. "Reconciled." It was genuine.

With that, Okita turned around and opened the tatami door, seeing the full appearance of the china girl.

"You look like shit." He deadpanned, not saying anything about the tearstains all over her face, nor her puffy eyes.

She huffed, "I tripped and fell."

"…..Some fall." He grabbed her hand and pulled her up, walking past her stupid big brother. Not bothering to spare a glance, they walked out of the shinsengumi-copy compound in silence, comforted by each other's presence.

He wasn't ever going to let her go.

And that's why he won't ever tell her.

* * *

A/N: Another short chapter…..gah im so terrible xo gomenasai minna

Well, kamui and kagura had their mature talk…I guess. *cries anime tears* I couldn't find any other way to picture their talk without making them ooc TTATT although I think every chapter I write at least has 1 ooc character xD

The reason why okita doesn't tell Kagura is cuz he's afraid of denial & rejection. Yes, he has done incredibly stupid things in the past 5 years, ik. But Okita has very few precious people to him, and he's just trying to figure out the best way to keep his precious people close to him, hence, explaining his possessiveness over Kondo and Mitsuba.

Well, anyways, now u know okita's…secret? xD Hope you guys don't hate him (although I adore him xD)

Til next time~


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: ch 11 is up!

**Chocopaste, **yerp, I had trouble writing Kagura's reaction….now that they all matured & I decided 2 put in the five year later thing, the stuff about mates, kamui…..oh god…..what the hell happened to the storyline xD, **C.A.M.E.O.1 and only, **yup, Okita's stuck between a rock and a hard place xD, **Chii-chan, **ahaha, reading ur review warms my heart xD, thank u ^^ I'll try & update as fast as I can xD

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GINTAMA IT BELONGS TO SORACHI HIDEAKI

Enjoy~

* * *

Umbrellas and Swords

Ch. 11: Interfering big brothers and Unsure Sadists

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.

.

"Is that so?" After being told by Nobume about Okita's antics in the past five years. Kamui seemed….calm. Strangely calm, as if someone had invaded his body and took away all of his killing intent.

Like the calm before the storm.

And this was the calm.

It was a strange sight to Nobume, seeing as she imagined that Kamui would rush to Okita's room straight away and shoot him to death, but five years had taken their toll on everyone. Kagura was an example of that.

_Stupid Okita_, she should've told Kagura sooner.

Because she fell too deep already.

And a simple tug at her sleeve won't be enough to pull her out.

If he doesn't tell her yet, Nobume will be the one to tell her, unless she's already figured it out. Although, that was highly doubtful, seeing as the dull expressions of the sadist were well-hidden. It was a skill that helped greatly when serving in the shinsengumi. "By the way," she started. Kamui turned his head towards her. "How long are you planning to stay here?" The Harusame didn't really involve itself in political, human affairs anymore, so they were excluded off the kill list. But it was still a wonder as to how long he was staying here. Well, at least he stopped stealing her donuts.

"As long as I want." He chirped back, eyeing the donut box with restraint. It was a habit he couldn't quite break yet.

Nobume's hand stopped midway as she reached for a donut. "What?"

"I quit my job." _Temporarily._

"….Outside._ Now_."

* * *

To be honest, it wasn't really a surprise to him that the little earthling wasn't a virgin. He just didn't expect him to sleep with so many women. Although, he learned by experience not to butt into anyone's business if it didn't include killing, he wondered to himself what the hell was he doing here.

In the shinsengumi compound.

With _Okita Sougo_.

_Dear God_, whatever he had intended to do was long forgotten as he bore his smiles into the samurai's eyes, hoping to at least make him feel uneasy. It was a hard feat, seeing as Okita wore his poker-face naturally like Kamui did with his smiles.

He didn't look fazed at all. That damn scumbag.

"I'm surprised you're not going to kill me." He deadpanned, plugging his Mp3 earphones in, listening to music. Clearly, serious talk didn't seem to suit him at the moment.

Then again, when had serious talk ever suited Okita Sougo?

Kamui let out a chuckle, and Okita didn't even bother wondering when he snuck into the compound. "Why would I? That privilege is reserved for imouto-chan." He paused, seeing if his smile made the sandy-haired man uncomfortable. Nope, didn't work. "Besides," he added, "Imouto-chan is committed."

_Like I don't know._

Okita hated this. He hated talking to her brother, and about this topic in particular. Although, the older one hadn't grated on his nerves like China did. It was more like, forcefully cracking open his shield until he was left bare and exposed.

And guilty.

This was Kamui's way of talking.

And it made Okita cringe. "I know…."

"Then why don't you tell her?" He asked it with complete innocence, as if he didn't give a damn about his problem at all. To be honest, Okita almost believed it, but that obviously wasn't true.

Because he did give a damn. It was his dear imouto-chan they were talking about, after all.

Okita's mp3 earplugs were still in his ears, playing nonexistent music. He _knew_. He knew that she was committed. As unattractive as she was when she picked her nose. When she snuck glances at him when they were fighting. When she confessed to him in the middle of his nap.

"_Sadist. I like you."_

He _knew_.

He knew that she loved him, and he knew that she was committed.

But that wasn't it.

The problem was him. He was the time-bomb, and being in the shinsengumi didn't help when half the people in Edo wanted your head.

_Excuses._

And sometimes, when he lets his thoughts wonder, which is rare, he wonders if her appearance of him in will change if he tells her. It was a stupid thought—a very well, damn stupid thought. And he cursed himself silently for thinking that. He _knows_ that she's better than that. He knowsmore than anyone else. But it was that damn, hesitating emotion that constantly ate away at his mind once he stopped to think about the stupid and irrational decisions that he made.

_Fear._

It was fear all along.

Sometimes, he wished that she never left.

"Then what am I supposed to do?" He asked, deadpanning. There was something strange in his voice, as if it was strangling him, and Kamui picked it up. "_How_ am I supposed to tell her? Am I supposed to tell her that in the past five years, I decided to show my commitment by being an ass and fucking around with sluts from Yoshiwara because I couldn't get her out of my head?" He spat the words out like venom, and smiled bitterly. He blamed his emotions and China for his actions. Dealing with the yatos again would've been easier than this.

His tone had a sharp edge to it. An edge that make Kamui slightly shift, and wonder if he was really doing the right thing.

He _does_ get into people's businesses after all.

"_Baka_."

It was quiet, and it was muffled by the shoji doors, and it was a voice that he knew all too well. Okita jerked his head over to the shoji doors, wide-eyed for a fraction of a second before his eyes returned to their normal state. He turned to Kamui, who had already stood up to leave. Okita stopped to grit his teeth, waiting, before walking over to the shoji doors, and casually sliding it open.

He was going to kill Kamui for this.

The mp3 earplugs that played nonexistent music were not helping at all as he clenched and unclenched his fist. It was a habit he picked up when he had to restrain the urge to murder Hijikata during meetings.

"_Kagura._"

The calm had passed, and this was the storm.

The silent, but unpredictable storm.

* * *

A/N: Oh god. I am really making my chapter extremely short TToTT.

tbh, i was going 2 make Nobume tell her, but this chapter decided 2 write itself xD

This story is about to come to an end, around 3-4 more chapters, so I wanted to thank you all in advance for those who had read, favored, followed, or reviewed. ^w^ *bows head*

Til next time~


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Ch 12 is up!

**Aliaslisa, **ikr xD Kamui's so adorable xD, **Ahsoei, **Thanks, I've been kinda depressed over the fact about the shortness of my chapters because I wanted to make them long in the first place xD, but thx again ^^, **C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only, **oh jesus, ur review made me laugh so hard xD, iron maiden and guillotine xD I'm still dying right now xD. Anyways, hmmm…what is Okita going to do? Well….im not sure if their ways of handling stuff are subtle or brutal xD, **ExtraCheesCake, **ahaha, it's okay ^^. I honestly don't mind if u review or not, it's not really a big deal xD, I like Nobume & Kamui 2gether personally, but we all have our opinions, nothing wrong there xD, **chocopaste, **ehehe, here's ur long-awaited chapter xD

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GINTAMA IT BELONGS TO SORACHI HIDEAKI

Enjoy~

* * *

Umbrellas and Swords

Ch. 12: Their committment

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.

.

Move.

_Move._

She couldn't move. It was as if thousands of boulders crushed her feet and stuck them to the ground. Honestly, she was terrified, and she finally figured out why Kamui struck a bargain with her.

"_If you want, we can go for a long vacation after this."_

"_Hah? What are you talking about? Baka aniki…"_

They stood in the doorway, and she couldn't comprehend what Okita was thinking about, nor did she want to.

_Why didn't you tell me?_

It was killing her. She wanted to spill the millions of questions forming from the inside his mind. To let him say the answer to her personally, but she couldn't.

Because she had secrets that she never spilled to anyone either. It was_ fear_ that kept her from telling Gin-chan about her rampage in Yoshiwara. So it was alright. It was okay, she understood.

_Move._

It worked. She took a step into the doorway, and stared straight into his eyes. The eyes that seemed to hold the whole entire truth and five fucking years of guilt, and something burrowed in the deep pits of her stomach.

Regret.

He turned around, and she looked at him, blank-faced, and she couldn't feel anything. Nothing, and that scared her.

"Let's go." She almost shuddered at his tone. It was guilty, and it was slightly a little too deep. But it was a plea. It sounded like desperate plea, so she kept quiet, and let her mate lead her to wherever they were going. Probably a secret place so that no one could hear them.

It was _their_ business after all.

* * *

They walked in silence, passed the crowds of people, passed the dango shops, and passed the Yorozuya. And the ironic thing was that she didn't expect him to lead her to the park.

To_ their_ park.

She felt strangely calm here, and maybe it was because of the warmth in her hand that suddenly slipped in.

He didn't turn around to look at her, and she was grateful for that.

She wasn't going to leave. Nope, definitely not. Not in a million years. She swore it upon her yato crest, and that was commitment.

_Was it really?_

_It is_. Because she was a committed woman. She wasn't half-assed like those from Yoshiwara, and it was her fault that she had never contacted anyone in the five year gap to let them know she was alive.

Sougo was _not_ guilty. He wasn't. He was her mate, and she knows he loves her. He just made some desperate and stupid decisions. She knows that, and he knows that too.

Maybe that's why she held onto the warmth that's still in her hand.

"Liar." It slipped out of her like water as she whispered it, and she saw the flinch in between the rustling of the leaves, the coolness of the wind, the tightening of his hand in hers'. It was inevitable. They were a pair of strangeness, and they were both time bombs. If one starts ticking off, the other will soon realize it, and then follow along with the rhythm. Ticking away until they finally broke and were left with nothing.

How fitting for a bakufu dog and a yato.

But she wasn't going to do that. Not today, not ever.

And she wasn't going to let him give in either.

She saw in between. The reason why he was so hesitant when they slept together. So this is what it's all about.

But she trusts him, and she understands.

Five years was a long time, after all.

_Was it really?_

_No. It's an excuse, uh-huh._

_Then what do you have that's not an excuse?_

…_..I'm not gonna take up Kamui's bargain._

The voice didn't reply.

_I love that bastard._

And that was the truth. The little voice stayed silent.

"Oi." He let go of her hand, and for a moment, locked his eyes with hers' before unsheathing his sword and swinging it towards her.

Without hesitation, she immediately reached for her umbrella, hanging limply by her waist, and blocked his attack. They didn't say anything, their eyes conveying the infinity of emotions that slipped out between the deathly attacks and blows, the breaking of benches, and the destruction of nature.

This was their way of communicating.

She didn't hold back this time, not after seeing the glance that he gave her.

And she didn't like it.

"Don't give me that half-assed look." She growled, in between the sweat seeping out of her hair, and the light bruises forming over her pale arms. It was like he_ wanted_ her to end it with him. That he was a complete asshole who made the mistake of a lifetime. Obviously, both were true, and she wouldn't give a damn about it. Not even if he grew another arm.

Because she loved him, and she wasn't about to make him give up on her. Not now, not ever.

"Fight for me." She said it the lowest voice her throat could possibly manage, almost to the point where it started to hurt. But it worked. His eyes, those beautiful, red eyes lit up. They found the spark to ignite it into a bloody red, and he knew. He knew that this matter was settled, and yet, he still looked really guilty. She didn't mind that though, he needed time.

He was an idiot. A complete baka who kept his lies and secrets hidden. And she was a baka for forgiving him.

But that was their commitment. Their shitty commitment riddled with thousands of holes, filled with lies and secrets, and sour spices seeping through every time, filling them up.

So much for a romance.

And she couldn't have asked for more.

And so they had fought.

And once again, she had won.

His mate definitely wasn't a half-assed woman.

* * *

"You idiot."

She said it directly to him. He knew it was an insult, but it didn't hurt. It felt. . .strangely comforting.

Okita sighed and brought his hand to hers'. Although it was disgusting for him to lay his head on her dirt-covered dress, at least he had a "pillow."

But he didn't deserve this, right? Lying and doing all sorts of shit. Then again, he didn't deserve a lot of things.

Her hand covered his eyes, and the shade hid them from the prying eyes of the kabukichou residence. Their clothes were in tatters, and the feeling of numbness and the aches of their joints soon took their toll, and for once, they embraced the sensation that overwhelmed them, and relished it.

It was what made them human.

He was about to give up on her, give her a door to walk out of. But she saw through that, and she would not for the love of God, make him choose that decision. She was as stubborn as Danna.

And Okita Sougo was glad for that.

Her hand were still resting on top of his eyes.

"I'm an asshole, aren't I?" He said it bluntly, but it was low, so only they could hear it. He felt her pause, and the lazy hand on his face soon stiffened.

And it was trembling.

And he felt something wet plop down onto his cheeks. He licked it. It tasted salty.

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes, China." Sarcasm.

"Shut up." Her tone was hoarse, and she looked like she had the battle of a lifetime, a huge war of internal conflict and strength. And from the looks of it, she just got out. And she won. "Asshole." She muttered.

He was.

And he waited. He waited for her to ask him. Waited like he wanted this moment, and realized just how ironic it was. He had never wanted her to find out about it, but everything just had to start moving again when her baka-aniki came along.

He needed to send Kamui some tobasco sauce later.

But she never asked, and he grabbed the hand that was covering his eyes, and watched as the sun kissed her tear-glistened face.

She was beautiful.

What a fool he was, to have almost given up on her.

She looked down at him. "You idiot."

He sighed, and he didn't really mind this. Nope, not at all. All he needed was his Mp3 sword that was sitting on the bench with an umbrella, broken and battered.

And it finally felt light.

"I know."

* * *

A/N: So…the problem was resolved…yup…..i feel unsatisfied xD

Oocness…yup. But the problem needed 2 be resolved. If I hadn't done that, then the problem would go on 4 agesssss XDXDXD

I feel like I haven't updated in ages….which is probably true…..xD

Nothing really to say honestly, but there might be 1-2 chapters after this and then the story will end ^^

Til next time~


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: ch 12 is up!

**C.A.M.E.O.1 and only, **ah, indeed. Well, I suppose that this chapter wraps everything….i think xD, **ExtraCheeseCake, **hmm, well, in my opinion, I think Kamui would take Kagura to their home planet. He would then probably be a siscon, or a comforting big brother and then try to (indirectly) explain Sougo's actions and what he would've done if he were in his place. Yeah….i guess xD

Last chapter. I just wanted to say thank you to all of you who have read, reviewed, and followed my story ^^ & if ur confused about the storyline of my story, it's mainly about the hardships that kagura and Okita go through after they have their confessions and loving hot-chocolately moments xD

Maybe I'll change the summary xD

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GINTAMA IT BELONGS TO SORACHI HIDEAKI

Enjoy~

* * *

Umbrellas and Swords

Ch. 13: Winter

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The light flickers of snow gathered in piles as the benches of the park was being enveloped in it. One would take in a great blessing such as snow.

Unfortunately, Okita Sougo was not one to do so.

She heard a cough, and then a sneeze, and then a dreary groan for her name.

"China~."

She tapped her finger against the table for a moment. One. Two. Three. That ungrateful, idiotic bastard. Just finally, when his lady luck ran out and he had gotten a cold, she should've been ecstatic. Jumping for joy. Pondering as to what she should do to him as payback for his brutal pranks on her when she but the mere age of fourteen. But that didn't come. Instead, she had received a note from the shinsengumi that his cold was apparently, done by an amanto princess with yuki-onna ancestors, from the planet "Yuki," who had also asked for the Commander's hand in marriage. Apparently, the jimmy of the shinsengumi, Yamazaki Sagaru, had reported to her that their commander had refused politely, and on his way out, accidentally tripped over one of the layers of her kimono, causing her other layers to slip off, only to reveal her true self.

A boy.

Kagura let out a snort as she remembered herself, doubling over and laughing until tears came out of her eyes. Continuing with his story, apparently, the princess, obviously disgraced, embarrassed, and humiliated, lashed out his anger onto the nearest person that was near him, freezing that person with an embarrassed yelp and a quick breeze coming from her—his mouth. And the poor soul who had just been standing right next to the princess, was none other than Okita Sougo.

Which leads to her current helpless, and inevitable situation. OKita had come down with a severe cold which had also infected dozens of other shinsengumi police officers. Hijikata, who had miraculously not been infected yet, sent Yamazaki after her. Yatos were known for their durability and immune systems, after all.

So basically, he was asking her to take care of him.

And there just happened to be a raging blizzard tonight.

A fucking blizzard. And it just so happens that she was stuck in a room with her raspy-voiced mate and a million other sick shinsengumi dogs.

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

Annoying. That's what described his sickening, annoying, excruciating cold. Although, it did have its quirks, such as the China girl having to take care of him. His mind, blurry and aching, had decided to imagine a scenario with her in the kitchen. _Nevermind._

Having a cold did not have any good quirks about it at all.

He leaned his head back onto his pillow, which was propped up by layers blankets that Kagura herself had gotten. He smirked.

How adorable.

It wasn't uncomfortable anymore, although it did take a few days for both of them to readjust after that, they had managed to do it. Although, it was unexpected that Danna knew about it, and it was even more shocking that he didn't do anything. And Okita was grateful that the samurai still retained his trust in him. His ticking had stopped. Her ticking had stopped. It was over. Five years of holding back, breaking, and finding temporary distractions just so happened to be forgiven. Such a priceless woman, that china.

His China.

Okita's hazy mind grew numb as he fell back against his pillow, hearing the merciless snow whirl, rattling the tatami doors and windows. At this rate, he might as well have a headache forever.

Oh well, screw nature.

He preferred autumn.

* * *

She stared at him, feeling the hotness of his forehead.

"Great, now my weekend's wasted. Kurosh*itsuji is supposed to be on tonight." She sighed, contemplating whether or not to put herself to sleep in order to shut out the loud coughing of the men from other rooms.

"Hey, it's not my fault that the "Princess" decided to shower me in "her" love."

He felt a pillow being flung at his face, and he caught it.

"Love, my ass." She turned her back, walking in the direction of the tatami doors.

"Where are you going?" His mind was less foggy now.

She turned to face him. "To make food. Gin-chan told me it was at these times that the shinsengumi sausages were _really_ open for eating."

"There's a spare fridge in the corner." _Which is Hijikata's._ "Feel free to take whatever's in there, miss Piggy."

With that, she walked out of the room, leaving her stupid, purple umbrella with him.

* * *

"Are you angry at me?" He asked, knowing he would probably never get a response. It just sat there, much to his annoyance and displeasure, seeing as he had never paid much attention to her umbrella before.

The color was wearing away.

And the thought of that unnerved him, somehow, seeing the umbrella was in top shape, but it was the color that had faded. The color that lasted throughout all autumn, with their abrupt matches, verbal scuffles, mating problems, and commitment.

And for some reason, he wanted that color to last. To not fade away like their problems had.

He held his gaze for a few more moments until she came back, giving him a quirk of her eyebrow in confusion and a tray filled with god-knows-what.

"What the hell were you doing?"

He paused for a second, trying to relay his answer without making him seem stupid. Although it did make him feel stupid, he had no other choice, seeing as that purple umbrella had ways of unnerving him just as she had.

"Talking."

* * *

It was midnight.

"You're sick." That was a complete excuse. A worried excuse because she wanted him to get better. But she didn't pull away.

He quirked his eyebrow. "I don't care."

And she didn't either.

Flipping away layers and layers of winter clothing, they faced each other again, gazing into their eyes. This time, without secrets, burdens, hesitations.

Or regrets.

She couldn't take much longer. "Now?"

He closed his eyes and buried his head into the crook of her neck. An act that he made her swear to not tell anyone about.

"Now."

* * *

They were talking to each other, gazing at their owners. Watching as they nipped and ravished each other.

"Ne, ne, is that woman like Sou-kun?"

The wind outside blew at the heaps of snow.

"I see, that's good. I'm happy for Sou-kun."

And the motionless objects watched as the two tangled themselves in the bed sheets, sighing and remembering. Layers of clothes thrown everywhere, and broken words thrown all around.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Words spoken only once in a lifetime.

And on the side watching, was an umbrella, and a sword.

~End~

* * *

A/N: Okay, so this story is finally done xD

2 more stories to finish (Just wait until I make another okikagu story xD oh jesus xD)

Til next story~


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